[No.  18. — Second  Series. — 3000.] 


/ " 


A  TOUR  OF  OBSERVATION 


t 


AMONG 


Indians  and  Indian  Schools 


IN 


ARIZONA,  NEW  MEXICO,  OKLAHOMA, 

AND  KANSAS. 


* 

BY 

CHARLES  F.  MESERVE, 


President  of  the  Shaw  University ,  Raleigh ,  A7 ,  C. 


PRINTED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

OFFICE  OF  THE  INDIAN  RIGHTS  ASSOCIATION, 

No.  1305  Arch  Street. 

1894. 


E*-- 

97 

.  M474 


Persons  desiring  to  become  members  of  the  Association 
should  present  their  names  and  addresses  to  the  Corres¬ 
ponding  Secretary,  who  will  submit  them  to  the  Executive 
Committee  for  election.  An  annual  fee  of  two  dollars  is 
required  of  members,  in  return  for  which  they  are  entitled 
to  all  publications  of  the  society. 

HERBERT  WELSH, 

Corresponding  Secretary  I.  R.  A., 

1305  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia. 


Press  of  Wm.  F.  Fell  &  Co., 
1220-24  Sansom  St., 
PHILADELPHIA. 


[No.  18. — Second  Series. — 3000.] 


A  TOUR  OF  OBSERVATION 


AMONG 


Indians  and  Indian 


Schools 


IN 


ARIZONA,  NEW  MEXICO,  OKLAHOMA, 

AND  KANSAS. 


BY 

CHARLES  F.  MESERVE, 

President  of  the  Shaw  University ,  Raleigh ,  N.  C. 


PRINTED  BY  ORDER  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

OFFICE  OF  THE  INDIAN  RIGHTS  ASSOCIATION, 
No.  1305  Arch  Street. 

1894. 


E 


3-nc(  Scr, 
no'*  1 8 


O’NOIl  LIBRARY 
BOSTON  COLLEGE 


L 


OCT  t  2  3E7 


A  TOUR  OF  OBSERVATION  AMONG  INDIANS  AND 
U.  S.  INDIAN  SCHOOLS  IN  ARIZONA,  NEW 
MEXICO,  OKLAHOMA,  AND  KANSAS. 


In  compliance  with  instructions  received  from  Mr.  Herbert 
Welsh,  Secretary  of  the  Indian  Rights  Association,  of  Philadel¬ 
phia,  I  left  New  York  on  the  25th  of  May,  to  visit  various  Indian 
tribes  in  the  Southwest.  I  proceeded  from  Chicago  over  the 
world’s  greatest  railway,  the  Santa  Fe,  to  Gallup,  New  Mexico, 
a  town  of  about  a  thousand  population  that  annually  sends  to 
various  points  on  the  Pacific  Coast  about  three  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  tons  of  bituminous  coal.  After  a  refreshing  night’s  sleep, 
I  was  driven  for  seven  hours  across  the  desert  to  Fort  Defiance? 
in  the  eastern  portion  of  Arizona.  This  is  the  headquarters  of 
Lieut.  E.  H.  Plummer,  of  the  Tenth  Infantry,  who  has  been  since 
April  1,  1893,  acting  U.  S.  Indian  Agent  for  the  Navajo  Indians. 
My  object  in  visiting  this  tribe  was  to  ascertain  its  present  con¬ 
dition  and  future  needs,  but  more  especially  to  examine  into  the 
progress  and  possibilities  of  irrigation  on  its  semi-desert  reserva¬ 
tion.  The  Navajos  number  twenty  thousand,  and  occupy  a 
reservation  that  is  half  as  large  again  as  the  State  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  larger  than  the  State  of  Maryland,  and  greater  than  the 
combined  area  of  New  Jersey,  Rhode  Island,  and  Delaware. 
They  have  been  known  for  many  years  as  the  Arabs  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere  ;  their  habits  being  nomadic,  it  is  more 
difficult  to  keep  track  of  them  than  of  any  of  the  other  tribes. 
I  found,  contrary  to  what  had  previously  been  told  me,  that  the 
Navajos  were  poor.  They  are  non-ration  Indians,  and  I  had 
for  years  understood  that  they  were  the  wealthiest  Indians  of  the 
Southwest ;  that  they  were  rich  in  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats, 
and  derived  annually  a  large  revenue  from  the  sale  of  their 
wool ;  that  they  were  also  skillful  silversmiths,  and  that  their 

3 


4 


bridles  and  saddles  were  richly  decorated  with  trimmings  and 
mountings  of  the  white-metal  wrought  out  by  their  own  clever 
handicraft.  I  found,  however,  as  soon  as  I  saw  them,  that  they 
were  poor,  and  their  pinched  cheeks  gave  plain  evidence  that 
they  were  hungry.  I  learned,  upon  conversation  with  Lieut. 
Plummer,  that  such  has  been  the  case  for  some  time.  They 
have  about  1,500,000  sheep  and  goats,  and  it  might  be  consid¬ 
ered  that  this  would  be  a  source  of  wealth.  The  Navajos,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  have  for  several  years  been  growing  poorer  and 
poorer.  For  the  last  four  years  there  has  been  an  unusually 
short  supply  of  rain  in  their  country,  which  at  best  has  only  a 
slight  rainfall.  Their  flocks  for  a  number  of  years,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  in-breeding,  an  insufficient  food  supply,  and  weather 
unusually  cold,  have  greatly  deteriorated.  I  was  informed  by 
reliable  parties  that  the  fleeces  sheared  from  these  sheep  average 
to  weigh  only  two  pounds  and  a  half ;  that  sometimes  a  sheep 
is  sheared  that  will  yield  a  fleece  weighing  three  pounds,  but 
that  this  is  rare.  There  have  been  instances,  also  rare,  in  which 
a  single  fleece  weighed  but  half  a  pound.  The  present  low  price 
of  wool  is  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  support  and  advancement  of 
the  Navajos.  At  points  on  the  reservation  distant  from  the 
railroad,  wool  brings  only  five  cents  a  pound  ;  and  at  or  near 
the  railroad  station,  only  seven  and  one-half  cents.  When  the 
average  weight  of  the  fleeces  is  considered  in  connection  with 
this  low  price,  it  can  be  seen  that  the  Navajo  Indians  are  indeed 
having  a  hard  time.  I  believe  there  will  be  much  suffering 
among  them  next  winter  unless  they  receive  aid. 

On  account  of  their  poverty,  trouble  frequently  arises  with  the 
whites  who  live  contiguous  to  the  reservation.  The  Navajo 
Reservation  is  situated  partly  in  Arizona  and  partly  in  New 
Mexico,  the  north  and  south  line  between  the  two  Territories 
dividing  the  reservation  into  two  unequal  parts.  On  ac¬ 
count  of  the  shortage  of  pasturage  during  the  last  few  years, 
probably  from  a  third  to  one-half  of  the  Navajos  have  wandered 
from  their  reservation  in  search  of  “  pastures  green.”  The  re¬ 
sult  is  that  it  has  been  very  annoying  to  the  whites  who  live  in 
various  portions  of  these  two  Territories  adjacent  to  the  Navajo 
Reservation.  Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  white  people  realized 
that  many  of  these  Indians  were  on  the  verge  of  starvation, 


5 


more  serious  trouble  would  have  arisen  than  has  already.  The 
whites  frequently  say  in  response  to  inquiry,  “Yes,  I  know  that 
the  Indians  have  taken  a  few  steers  or  a  few  of  my  sheep,  but  they 
are  starving  and  I  do  not  feel  like  interfering.”  It  is  clear  that 
the  Government  has  a  duty  not  only  to  the  Navajos  themselves 
directly,  but  also  to  the  white  settlers  who  have  made  homes 
near  the  reservation,  and  who  have  become  important  factors 
in  the  civilization  and  advancement  of  these  two  Territories. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  there  is  only  one  course  to  be  pursued  by 
the  Government,  and  that  is  to  establish  a  complete  and 
thorough  system  of  irrigation,  and  also  to  introduce  among 
these  Indians  a  better  class  of  sheep,  so  that  in  a  few  years  their 
flocks  can  be  greatly  improved.  The  raising  of  alfalfa  and 
other  crops,  which  the  system  of  irrigation  proposed  will  make 
possible,  will  enable  them  to  become  independent  and  live  at 
least  in  comfort.  I  have  looked  into  the  matter  very  carefully, 
and  believe  that  there  is  no  other  solution  for  the  Navajo  prob¬ 
lem.  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  an  appropriation  of  $64,000 
had  been  made  by  Congress,  with  which  to  open  up  the  water- 
holes,  clear  out  the  springs,  and  later  on  sink  artesian  wells  and 
conduct  irrigating  ditches  from  the  Little  Colorado  and  San 
Juan.  There  are  also  many  smaller  streams  that  originate  in 
springs  at  the  heads  of  the  various  canons,  that  can  be  brought 
down  through  the  canons  and  led  out  into  valleys  of  a  few  acres 
in  extent  that  are  always  found  at  the  opening  of  the  canons. 
We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  as  a 
vast  expanse  of  desert,  but  the  fact  is  that  large  sections  are  very 
fertile  when  a  proper  amount  of  water  has  been  provided. 
There  are  also  opportunities  of  storing  large  volumes  of  water 
by  diverting  certain  streams  into  natural  reservoirs  or  storage 
basins  which  would  never  be  in  danger  of  bursting. 

When  this  system  of  irrigation,  which,  of  course,  must  be  begun 
in  a  small  way  and  increased  from  year  to  year  by  additional 
appropriations  from  Congress,  has  been  fully  carried  out,  there 
will  be  no  question  but  what  the  Navajo  Indians  will  cease  to 
be  nomadic  in  their  habits.  A  hundred  thousand  acres  can 
easily  be  irrigated.  Alfalfa,  corn,  oats,  and  wheat,  and  possibly 
other  grains,  can  be  raised  in  large  quantities,  and  I  believe  as 
agriculture  is  more  developed  there  will  be  a  larger  variety  of 


6 


products.  Both  the  Indians  themselves  and  their  sheep  and 
goats  have  for  some  time  had  an  insufficient  supply  of  food. 
The  alfalfa  and  grain  that  they  can  raise  will  enable  them  to 
keep  their  flocks  in  good  condition,  and  will  also  supply  a  suffi¬ 
cient  amount  of  food  so  that  they  can  dispose  of  the  small 
ponies  that  they  now  use,  and  raise  large,  strong,  and  serviceable 
horses  instead.  It  will  also  tend  to  lead  at  least  a  portion  of  the 
Navajos  into  strictly  agricultural  pursuits,  rather  than  the  raising 
of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep.  The  whole  trend  of  a  proper 
system  of  irrigation  will  be  toward  a  fixed  abode,  and  until  they 
have  a  fixed  abode  and  diversified  industries  it  will  be  well-nigh 
impossible  for  them  to  make  the  progress  in  civilization  which 
the  friends  of  the  Indians  desire  to  see  made,  and  which  they 
are  capable  of  making.  There  must  be  engendered  a  love  for 
home,  a  fixed  abode,  and  individual  realty. 

I  was  very  much  gratified  to  find  that  progress  is  being  made 
in  the  education  of  the  Indian  youth.  There  are,  in  all  prob¬ 
ability,  at  least  4000  Indians  of  school  age  among  the  Navajos. 
Not  more  than  300  at  the  outside,  and  probably  less,  are  now 
in  school.  One  year  ago  there  were  enrolled  in  the  Navajo 
school  at  Fort  Defiance  about  90  pupils;  at  the  time  of  my 
visit  there  were  199.  This  was  very  gratifying,  and  proba- 
bly  is  the  most  marked  example  of  increased  attendance  that 
can  be  found  in  any  Indian  school  in  the  country  during  the 
past  year.  It  was  especially  gratifying  to  learn  of  this  increased 
attendance,  because  I  knew  what  trouble  the  former  Agent  had 
with  Black  Horse,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  non-progressive 
Navajos,  and  had  done  his  utmost  to  discourage  the  sending  of 
their  children  to  school.  He  said  that  none  of  his  children 
should  attend  school,  and  advised  all  the  Indians  of  his  band 
not  to  send  theirs.  To  the  surprise  of  every  one,  a  few  months 
ago  Black  Horse,  of  his  own  accord,  came  to  Fort  Defiance 
with  his  oldest  boy,  and  asked  the  Agent  to  place  him  in  school. 
The  increased  attendance  has  been  largely  due  to  the  wise  man¬ 
agement  of  Lieut.  Plummer.  He  is  a  man  who  thoroughly  un¬ 
derstands  the  situation  and  receives  the  highest  commendation 
from  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  work  that  he  has  done,  is 
doing,  and  is  planning  to  do.  Miss  Merritt,  the  Superintendent 
of  the  Boarding  School,  is  also  popular,  and  her  influence  has 


7 


also  been  a  prominent  factor  in  the  increased  attendance.  It  is 
but  just  to  say  of  Miss  Annie  Thomas,  a  full-blooded  Pueblo, 
that  since  she  has  been  assistant  matron  the  attendance  of  the 
girls  has  increased  from  twenty-three  to  forty-six.  Without 
doubt  the  poverty  of  the  Navajos  has  had  some  effect  in  increasing 
the  attendance.  There  ought  to  be  at  least  four  more  schools, 
similar  to  the  school  at  Fort  Defiance,  established  at  different 
points  on  the  reservation  and  remote  from  each  other.  It  is  the 
sheerest  folly  to  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  by  educating  some 
two  or  three  hundred  children  when  there  are  at  least  four 
thousand  of  school  age  who  ought  to  be  in  school.  When  the 
scheme  of  irrigation  has  been  more  developed  and  the  Indians 
have  become  less  roving  in  their  habits,  there  should  also  be 
established  a  few  day  schools,  as  well  as  the  four  boarding 
schools  recommended. 

The  Fort  Defiance  school  should  be  enlarged  by  the  addition 
of  several  industrial  departments.  I  used  to  believe  very 
strongly  that  it  was  unwise  to  foster  reservation  schools  of  a 
high  grade,  and  I  still  believe  that  it  would  be  far  better  for  all 
Indian  youths,  above  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  to  be  taken  at  a 
distance  to  some  non-reservation  industrial  training  school,  like 
Haskell  or  Carlisle,  and  kept  there  for  a  number  of  years,  but  in 
the  absence  of  a  compulsory  attendance  law,  and  in  view  of  the 
general  refusal  of  the  Indians  to  allow  their  children  to  attend 
school  at  a  distance  from  home,  reservation  schools  must  be  en¬ 
couraged  and  receive  more  and  more  attention,  and  on  a  reserva¬ 
tion  like  the  Navajo,  with  an  Indian  population  of  twenty 
thousand,  there  should  be  one  industrial  training  school  as  large, 
as  well  equipped,  and  as  efficient  as  any  of  the  training  schools 
at  a  distance  from  the  reservations.  While  the  absence  of  a 
compulsory  attendance  law  and  the  unwillingness  of  the  Indians 
to  send  their  children  at  a  distance  to  school  is  retarding  their 
progress,  it  is  encouraging  to  find  them  willing  to  send  their 
children  to  school  near  home  and  asking  that  they  be  taught  to 
do  things  that  are  needed  at  home. 

There  is  an  important  matter  that  should  receive  the  attention 
of  the  United  States  Government  in  a  practical  way  at  the 
earliest  possible  day.  Whisky  is  one  of  the  worst  enemies  that 
the  Indian  meets,  and  it  has  more  to  do  with  preventing  him 


8 


from  advancing  along  the  road  to  civilization  than  anything  else. 
In  the  Annual  Report  for  1893  of  Hon.  W.  L.  Thornton,  Gov¬ 
ernor  of  New  Mexico,  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  I 
find  the  following,  and  as  it  is  so  important,  I  give  this  quota¬ 
tion  : — 

“  Another  cause  of  poverty  among  the  Navajos  is  their  great 
love  of  drink,  which  they  will  gratify  by  the  sale  of  the  last  hoof 
of  their  stock.  Upon  every  side  of  the  reservation  may  be  found 
small  storekeepers  whose  ostensible  business  is  the  exchange  of 
goods  for  wool  and  pelts  of  the  Indians,  but  whose  real  business 
is  the  secret  selling  of  whisky  to  them.  So  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  learn  there  has  not  been  a  conflict  between  the  Indians 
and  the  settlers  for  a  number  of  years  not  directly  caused  through 
the  sale  of  whisky  to  the  Indians  or  by  their  thefts.  It  is  impos¬ 
sible  to  bring  these  violators  of  law  to  justice,  except  by  the  ex¬ 
penditure  of  large  sums  of  money.  The  fees  paid  the  marshals 
do  not  justify  them  in  assuming  the  expense  and  incurring  the 
danger  incident  to  making  arrests  and  securing  the  testimony 
necessary  to  make  convictions.  The  stores  are  generally  located 
in  isolated  localities,  where  the  trading  can  be  done  with  im¬ 
punity.  The  Indians  will  not,  as  a  general  rule,  betray  the  party 
from  whom  they  purchase  drink,  and  when  they  do  testify,  so 
little  confidence  can  be  placed  in  their  statements  that  jurors 
very  rarely  convict. 

“  A  resident  dare  not  attempt  their  arrest  and  conviction,  for 
if  he  fails  he  would  no  longer  live  in  peace.  He  would  be  per¬ 
secuted  in  various  ways.  The  Indians  would  be  induced  and 
aided  in  running  off  his  stock  ;  his  property  would  be  secretly 
destroyed,  and,  if  this  did  not  induce  him  to  move  to  other 
parts,  his  life  would  be  taken. 

“  I  recommend  that  the  Department  appoint  two  or  three  special 
detectives  or  deputy  marshals  to  remain  for  a  number  of  months 
upon  the  borders  of  the  reservation.  They  should  assume  some 
occupation,  live  and  associate  with  the  law-breakers  until  they 
obtain  proof  necessary  for  their  arrest  and  conviction.  A  few 
arrests  and  convictions  of  the  most  prominent  offenders  would 
put  an  end  to  this  traffic  in  a  large  measure.  When  they  once 
learn  that  a  few  fearless,  determined  men  are  secretly  working 
in  this  matter,  backed  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  Government, 


9 


they  would  stop  their  traffic  and  seek  less  dangerous  occupa¬ 
tions.” 

With  reference  to  the  education  of  Indian  children  I  would 
remark  that  there  has  been,  during  the  last  few  years,  a  marked 
change  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  last  Annual  Report  of 
the  Governors  of  the  Territories  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico 
spoke  very  favorably  of  educating  the  Indian  youth,  and  of 
making  their  education  as  practical  as  possible  from  the  indus¬ 
trial  standpoint,  as  well  as  in  the  ordinary  English  branches. 

Lieutenant  Plummer  is  doing  a  grand  work  in  trying  to  help 
the  Navajos  in  the  great  straits  in  which  they  now  are.  He  is 
giving  his  whole  life  and  soul  to  the  work,  and  should  receive 
the  heartiest  support  possible  from  Congress.  He  does  not 
begin  to  have  the  help  that  he  ought  in  attending  to  his  clerical 
duties.  It  is  frequently  the  case  that  he  is  at  work  in  his  office 
until  one  o’clock  in  the  morning,  or  even  later  ;  and  on  one 
occasion  after  he  had  been  out  for  a  number  of  days  on  a  long 
trip  over  the  reservation,  he  returned  at  nine  o’clock  in  the 
morning,  and,  finding  that  a  vast  amount  of  correspondence  had 
accumulated  in  his  absence,  went  to  his  desk  and  did  not  leave 
his  office  until  three  o’clock  the  next  morning.  The  Indian 
Office  believes  most  heartily  in  Lieutenant  Plummer,  and  would 
be  glad  to  give  him  an  additional  clerk,  but  the  money  has  not 
yet  been  appropriated  by  Congress  for  this  purpose.  Something 
should  be  done  to  help  him  in  this  extremity.  Work  in  an  In¬ 
dian  agency  is  not  the  pleasantest  at  best ;  and  when  there  is  a 
whole-hearted,  big-souled  man  like  Lieutenant  Plummer,  who  is 
willing  to  go  to  Fort  Defiance,  when  he  might  have  a  pleasanter 
position,  and  give  his  whole  life  to  the  work,  as  he  is  doing, 
everything  ought  to  be  made  as  pleasant  as  possible,  and  every¬ 
thing  done  to  afford  him  all  the  encouragement  possible.  If  he 
could  be  properly  supported,  and  remain  there  for  a  decade,  I 
believe  that  the  Navajo  problem  would  be  well-nigh  solved. 

The  buildings  at  the  agency  are  more  or  less  dilapidated. 
Most  of  them  are  nondescript,  adobe,  tumble-down  affairs,  that 
are  a  disgrace  to  the  United  States.  The  various  school  build¬ 
ings  are  of  stone,  and  are  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  and 
meet  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  designed  very  well. 
There  should  be  a  large  expenditure  made  at  Fort  Defiance,  so 


IO 


that  things  may  be  put  in  a  proper  condition  for  carrying  on 
the  work,  as  well  as  commanding  the  proper  respect  of  the 
Indians. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  at  Fort  Defiance  Mr.  Edward 
C.  Vincent,  Superintendent  of  Irrigation  for  the  Navajo  Reserva¬ 
tion.  He  gave  me  in  detail  his  plans,  and  they  seemed  to  be 
wise,  and  I  hope  ere  this  he  has  been  able  to  start  upon  his 
work.  He  has,  however,  arrived  too  late  to  accomplish  much 
good  this  season.  Frost  in  this  part  of  the  country  forms  as  late 
as  June,  and  again  late  in  September.  It  will  hardly  be  possible 
for  him  to  get  his  system  under  way  so  that  the  Navajos  can  put 
in  any  crops  this  year,  but  much  should  be  accomplished  during 
the  coming  autumn  and  next  spring. 

The  entire  reservation  has  been  looked  over  by  a  competent 
body  of  engineers  from  the  War  Department,  and  maps  and 
diagrams  made  of  the  various  localities  where  Superintendent 
Vincent  will  carry  on  his  operations.  The  project  is.  not  at  all 
visionary,  and  in  a  few  years  there  should  be  substantial  results. 

The  Navajo  reservation  should,  as  soon  as  possible  after  the 
system  of  irrigation  proposed  has  been  started,  be  divided  into 
a  number  of  districts,  in  each  of  which  there  ought  to  be  a 
farmer  who  is  more  than  the  average  man.  He  should  not  only 
understand  farming,  but  have  a  general  knowledge  of  business 
and  of  the  laws  of  the  Territory,  so  that  he  could  be  a  mediator 
between  the  Indians  and  the  white  men,  and  see  that  the  Indians 
have  their  rights,  as  well  as  give  them  necessary  instruction  in 
farming  and  care  of  cattle.  As  soon  as  the  proposed  plan  of  irri¬ 
gation  has  been  fairly  started,  there  should  be  provided  additional 
field  matrons  to  go  out  among  the  Indian  women  and  give  them 
instruction  in  the  ordinary  matters  of  housekeeping,  cooking, 
care  of  sick,  etc. 

There  are  at  various  points  on  the  Navajo  reservation  large 
deposits  of  bituminous  coal.  I  believe  that  the  time  will  come, 
when  this  country  has  been  more  developed  and  the  scheme  of 
irrigation  been  carried  out,  and  the  Navajos  have  taken  their 
allotments,  that  it  will  be  a  valuable  country,  and  that  when 
railroads  are  introduced  and  the  coal  is  more  accessible,  the 
Navajos  will  be  well  off. 

In  addition  to  the  industries  that  would  be  taught,  if  the 


boarding  schools  that  I  recommend  should  be  established,  there 
ought  to  be  some  attention  paid  to  improving  the  looms.  Navajo 
blankets  are  known  the  world  over.  They  are  made  in  a  very 
crude,  coarse  way ;  and  if  they  had  improved  looms  and  spin¬ 
ning  wheels,  instead  of  the  ordinary  crude  frames  and  a  stick, 
their  product  would  be  worth  a  great  deal  more.  I  learned  there 
are  among  the  Navajos  few  half-breeds,  and  that  they  are  clean 
morally  among  themselves.  There  is  very  little  polygamy,  and 
this  is  generally  among  the  older  men,  who  wish  to  have  more 
than  one  wife  so  that  they  can  work  for  them  and  be  a  source  of 
income. 

I  met  here  Mr.  White,  a  Methodist  missionary,  who,  with  his 
wife,  has  come  to  do  what  he  can  to  enlighten  the  minds  of 
these  Indians.  They  are  deeply  interested  in  their  work.  A 
chapel  is  very  much  needed  for  general  gatherings  as  well  as  wor¬ 
ship,  and  I  trust  that  the  great  Methodist  denomination  will  see 
that  the  money  for  this  is  soon  provided. 

The  situation  of  the  Fort  Defiance  Agency  and  the  Navajo 
Boarding  School  is  very  beautiful.  The  elevation  above  the  sea 
level  is  7500  feet.  There  are  mesas  on  nearly  all  sides,  and  the 
Canon  Bonita  broadens  out  into  a  valley  quite  near  the  school. 
There  is  a  large  spring  of  soft,  sweet  water  that  flows  down  from 
this  canon.  Lieutenant  Plummer  has  placed  a  pump  in  position 
and  excavated  a  reservoir,  with  a  capacity  of  30,000  gallons, 
in  the  solid  rock  up  on  the  side  of  the  mesa,  and  has  the  water 
pumped  into  it.  This  is  high  enough  to  carry  the  water  into  all 
the  buildings,  and  it  is  under  sufficient  pressure  to  cover  the 
buildings  in  case  of  fire.  This  could  indeed  be  made  a  beautiful 
place,  a  veritable  oasis  in  a  desert  of  surrounding  and  sheltering 
mesas,  a  school  and  agency  that  would  exert  a  powerful  influence 
for  good  upon  all  the  surrounding  country. 

I  found  civil  service  reform  in  a  healthy  condition.  Not  a 
change  had  been  made  in  positions  on  the  classified  list,  and 
only  two  in  the  unclassified.  This  means  that  the  spoilsman  is 
not  “  on  deck  ”  at  Fort  Defiance.  There  is  not  apt  to  be  a  call 
for  political  pie  when  merit  rules  instead  of  the  spoilsman.  If 
Lieutenant  Plummer  were  hampered  by  the  spoils  system,  his 
plans  for  bringing  the  Navajos  out  of  darkness  would  soon  be 
frustrated.  An  Indian  Agent  or  an  Indian-school  Superintend- 


12 


ent  cannot  run  his  agency  or  school  and  a  political  machine  at 
the  same  time.  One  or  the  other  will  have  to  suffer,  and  ul¬ 
timately  get  smashed.  It  was  usually  the  case  under  the  spoils 
system  that  the  machine  prospered  and  the  Indians  suffered,  be¬ 
cause  the  agency  or  school  was  smashed.  There  is  scarcely  a 
reservation  where  there  are  not  such  wrecks.  Millions  upon 
millions  of  dollars  have  been  appropriated  for  the  support,  civ¬ 
ilization,  and  education  of  Indians,  and  much  of  this  has  been 
wasted  by  the  unbusiness-like  methods  made  necessary  by  the 
spoilsmen  of  the  party  in  power.  One  of  the  grandest  acts  of 
General  Harrison  was  placing  by  executive  order  the  positions 
of  superintendent,  assistant  superintendent,  physician,  matron, 
and  teacher  under  the  protection  of  the  civil  service  rules. 
President  Cleveland  has  recently  and  very  wisely  added  that  of 
assistant  teacher. 

On  June  9th  I  arrived  at  Ponca,  Oklahoma.  This  is  the 
headquarters  of  the  Ponca,  Oto,  Pawnee,  and  Tonkawa  tribes, 
and  is  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Arkansas  City,  Kansas.  These 
Indians,  with  the  exception  of  the  Tonkawas,  were  removed 
from  Nebraska,  some  years  ago,  to  the  reservation  they  now  oc¬ 
cupy,  and  which  was  purchased  for  them  by  the  government, 
from  the  Cherokees.  Their  land  originally  comprised  a  part  of 
the  famous  Cherokee  Strip.  My  object  in  visiting  this  agency 
was  to  look  into  the  present  condition  and  needs  of  the  Indians, 
as  well  as  to  see  what  progress  had  been  made  in  allotting  land, 
and  whether  the  civil  service  rules  were  being  properly  observed. 

I  found  the  Indians  in  good  condition,  and  that  the  Poncas  es¬ 
pecially  had  made  considerable  progress  since  I  became 
acquainted  with  them  some  five  years  ago.  There  were  large 
fields  of  corn  and  wheat,  the  latter  being  nearly  ready  for  har¬ 
vesting.  Only  a  portion  of  the  Poncas  have  taken  their  allot¬ 
ments  ;  the  Pawnees  have  all  taken  theirs,  but  less  than  half  of 
the  Otos.  The  Tonkawas  have  their  allotments,  and  are  settled 
upon  them.  I  was  very  much  interested  in  the  work  of  Miss 
Helen  P.  Clark,  the  allotting  agent,  who  herself  is  a  Blackfoot 
Indian.  I  was  sorry  to  find  that  she  was  ill,  being  confined  to 
a  cot  in  her  tent,  from  malarial  fever.  Her  camp  was  in  a  beau¬ 
tiful  grove  of  elms  on  the  bank  of  a  creek  near  the  Oto  sub¬ 
agency.  She  received  me  for  a  few  moments,  and  gave  a  brief 


!3 


but  interesting  account  of  the  allotting  of  land  to  these  four 
tribes.  She  has  met  with  considerable  opposition,  but  has  man¬ 
aged  her  work  very  wisely  and  discreetly,  and  has  won  her  way 
in  the  face  of  many  obstacles.  The  Poncas  are  pretty  evenly 
divided,  rather  more  favoring  than  opposing  allotment.  The 
element  that  may  be  termed  the  progressive  element,  that  favors 
the  individual  holding  of  land,  is  under  the  leadership  of  White 
Eagle.  Were  he  a  white  man,  brought  up  under  the  environment 
of  white  civilization,  he  surely  would  have  been  a  great  leader 
of  men.  Some  time  ago  he  saw  the  inevitable  and  put  himself 
in  a  position  where  he  urged  and  favored  the  allotting  of  land.' 
He  is  also  a  firm  supporter  of  the  Government  schools  both  on 
and  off  the  reservation.  Some  five  years  ago,  when  I  first  vis¬ 
ited  the  Poncas,  I  found  that  very  many  of  them  were  living  in 
tepees,  although  a  house  was  situated  near  by.  I  find  now  that 
it  is  rather  the  exception  to  find  the  tepee ;  and  even  where 
there  is  a  tepee  beside  the  house,  the  house  is  the  domicile  in¬ 
stead  of  the  tepee.  This,  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
Indians,  means  a  marked  improvement.  Practically  all  of  the 
children  of  school  age  among  these  four  tribes  are  in  school, 
the  Pawnee  school  being  the  largest,  having  one  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  in  attendance.  The  Ponca  school  is  also  as  full  as 
it  can  be,  and  the  Oto  school  has  all  it  can  do  to  care  for  the 
children  from  the  Oto  reservation. 

The  area  of  the  Ponca  reservation  is  one  hundred  and  forty- 
four  square  miles,  and  the  number  of  Poncas  five  hundred  and 
ninety-five.  They  have  two  pastures  of  60,000  acres  which  have 
been  leased  for  $ 6000  per  annum.  They  also  receive  an 
annuity  from  the  United  States,  but  no  rations.  Aside  from 
the  Indians  of  the  five  civilized  tribes,  namely,  the  Cherokees, 
Creeks,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  and  Seminoles,  I  think  that  the 
Poncas  have  made  the  most  progress  during  the  past  five  years  of 
any  of  the  tribes  of  Oklahoma  or  Indian  Territory.  Instead  of 
the  usual  small  Indian  ponies,  you  frequently  find  good  horses, 
and  it  is  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  an  Indian  at  work  with  a 
pair  of  large,  stout  horses,  plowing  or  cultivating,  according  to 
the  season  of  the  year. 

The  Otos  are  perhaps  the  most  stubborn  and  non-progressive 
of  all  the  Indians  at  this  agency.  They  oppose  land  in  severalty 


14 


and  the  sending  of  their  children  to  non-reservation  schools, 
although  comparatively  near  home.  Rev.  S.  P.  Merrill,  D.D.,  of 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  was  the  first  white  person  born  in  Nebraska. 
His  father,  at  the  time  of  his  birth,  was  missionary  to  the  Otos, 
and  lived  and  labored  among  them  many  years.  He  learned 
their  language  and  prepared  a  book  in  the  Oto  tongue  for  use  in 
the  tribe.  In  1891  Dr.  Merrill  visited  the  Otos  on  their  pres¬ 
ent  reservation  to  see  what  traces  he  could  find  of  his  father’s 
labors.  On  his  return  he  informed  me  that  he  had  found  none 
of  his  father’s  books  and  almost  no  direct  results  of  his  long  years 
of  service  for  this  tribe.  The  Otos  in  stature  are  large  and  strong, 
and  should  be  compelled  to  take  their  land,  live  upon  it,  and  sup¬ 
port  themselves. 

I  found  the  spoils  system  at  its  best  here  among  the  Indians 
whose  headquarters  are  at  the  Ponca  Agency  ;  and  when  I  say 
the  best,  I  mean  the  best  you  could  expect  to  find  under  either 
a  Democratic  or  a  Republican  administration;  i.  e.,  if  there  is 
any  best  in  the  spoils  system.  Inquiry  elicited  the  fact  that 
there  was  only  one  employee  at  Ponca  that  was  in  the  service 
during  the  past  administration.  Nearly  all  at  Oto  had  been 
changed,  and  most  of  the  employees  at  Pawnee.  Between  the 
middle  of  May  and  the  first  of  June,  the  Superintendent  at  Oto 
and  the  Superintendent  and  Matron  at  Pawnee,  and  three  teachers, 
had  left  the  service.  I  was  informed  that  some  of  these  changes 
were  for  cause,  and  others  were  voluntary  resignations.  The 
school  year  in  all  Government  schools  closes  the  last  of  June  ; 
hence  the  reader  can  readily  see  what  injury  was  done  these 
schools  by  changes  in  the  teaching  force  at  a  time  when  the  year’s 
work  was  drawing  to  a  close  and  when  preparations  for  the  clos¬ 
ing  exercises  were  under  way.  The  old  employees,  even  if  they 
were  all  incompetent,  should  have  been  retained,  unless  grossly 
immoral  (and  nothing  of  this  sort  was  charged),  until  June,  30th, 
the  close  of  the  year,  and  then  discharged.  Some  of  the  em¬ 
ployees  said  to  me  quietly  that  politics  was  back  of  these 
changes,  that  they  were  sorry  to  see  them  made,  and  that, 
although  they  themselves  had  secured  their  positions  through 
political  pull,  they  believed  in  the  merit  rather  than  the  spoils 
system,  and  would  like  to  see  all  positions  in  the  classified  list. 
I  ought  to  say  that  I  found  the  employees  of  excellent  character 


i5 

and  doing  the  best  they  could  in  view  of  their  lack  of  experi¬ 
ence. 

Is  it  not  high  time  that  all  positions  in  the  Indian  school  and 
agency  service  were  placed  in  the  classified  list,  so  that  there 
should  not  be  the  loss  that  comes  from  spending  two  or  three 
years  in  learning  how  to  perform  duties  ?  I  talked  with  a  num¬ 
ber  of  employees,  who  in  every  instance  were  people  of  good  sense 
and  excellent  character,  who  admitted  that  the  work  was  new  to 
them,  and  that  they  thought  at  the  end  of  four  years,  when  they 
expected  to  leave  the  service,  they  would  be  well  acquainted  with 
their  duties,  and  competent  to  render  most  efficient  service  ;  and 
in  several  instances  they  asked  me  to  use  my  influence  to  have 
their  positions  placed  in  the  classified  list,  so  that  they  could 
remain  in  the  service  regardless  of  any  other  time  limit  than  the 
continuance  of  good  behavior. 

It  is  the  sheerest  folly  for  the  Government  to  conduct  its  busi¬ 
ness  in  the  way  it  is  doing.  There  is  no  private  business  or 
enterprise  that  could  succeed  if  every  few  years  the  entire  corps 
of  employees  were  to  be  thrown  out  and  others,  that  were  untried 
and  new  to  the  business,  were  to  be  put  in,  and  simply  because 
they  had  some  strong  political  pull. 

I  was  greatly  disappointed  at  not  meeting  Mr.  Woolsey,  the 
Agent,  who  had  been  recently  called  to  Arkansas  by  the  serious 
illness  of  a  brother.  I  have  had  considerable  correspondence 
with  him,  and  regard  him  very  highly.  He  is  a  good  agent,  a 
clean  man,  and  is  doing  a  good  work,  but  needs  to  be  converted 
to  civil  service  reform.  I  sincerely  hope  President  Cleveland 
will  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head  by  placing  Indian  agents  upon 
the  classified  list,  and  thus  retain  him  and  all  other  worthy  agents 
in  the  service. 

Mr.  A.  M.  Hurley,  chief  clerk,  was  acting  agent,  and  had 
everything  well  in  hand. 

I  might  remark  in  this  connection  that  there  seemed  to  be 
little  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  many  employees.  This  doubtless 
resulted  from  a  feeling  on  their  part  that  there  was  no  permanency 
of  tenure. 

Excellent  work  was  being  done  at  the  Ponca  school,  under  the 
superintendency  of  Mr.  Elliff,  a  young  man  of  considerable 
experience  in  teaching.  He  lamented  the  fact  that  there  was 


4 


i6 

/ 

little,  if  any,  prospect  of  future  advancement  in  the  Indian  work, 
and  he  probably  should  not  continue  in  it  more  than  a  year  or 
two  longer.  This  is  the  feeling  that  I  found  almost  everywhere, 
and  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Indian  Service  can  attain  the  degree 
of  proficiency  that  it  ought  until  there  is  a  more  permanent 
tenure  of  office,  and  also  some  inducement  in  the  line  of  advance¬ 
ment  held  out. 

In  this  connection,  it  might  be  wdd  to  state  the  method  of 
administering  agencies  and  schools.  An  agent  is  appointed 
through  some  political  influence,  usually  that  of  a  Senator  or  the 
two  Senators  of  some  State,  the  appointment  being  based  wholly 
upon  political  influence  rather  than  the  possession  of  merit  ascer¬ 
tained  after  a  proper  examination  of  the  applicant.  All  the 
superintendents  of  Indian  schools  are  in  the  classified  list,  and 
can  receive  their  appointment  only  after  they  have  passed  a 
satisfactory  examination  and  been  placed  on  the  list  of  eligibles, 
it  being  necessary  to  attain  a  certain  per  cent,  in  order  to  get  on 
this  list.  Indian  agents  and  superintendents  of  bonded  schools 
report  directly  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.  Superin¬ 
tendents  of  non-bonded  schools  report  to  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs  through  the  Indian  agent. 

The  agencies  and  schools  are  supervised  by  a  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Schools,  who,  however,  spends  a  portion  of  his  time  in 
the  performance  of  his  duties  at  Washington ;  by  supervisors, 
special  agents,  and  inspectors,  who  spend  their  whole  time  in 
the  field.  The  power  of  appointment,  outside  of  the  classified 
list  and  for  all  removals,  rests  entirely  with  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior.  Special  agents  and  supervisors  report  directly  to  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  affairs,  while  inspectors  report  directly 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  Usually  the  recommendation 
of  an  inspector  that  an  employee  be  dropped  or  relieved  from 
the  service  is  adopted.  This  gives  a  large  opportunity  for  im¬ 
proper  work,  if  an  unworthy  man  holds  the  position  of 
inspector. 

The  strong  and  sensible  attitude  of  the  present  Administration 
on  the  land-in-severalty  question  is  shown  in  an  interview  be¬ 
tween  the  Hon.  Frank  M.  Armstrong,  Assistant  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs,  and  Standing  Buffalo,  the  leader  of  the  non-pro¬ 
gressive  Poncas.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  Assistant  Com- 


i7 


missioner  I  am  enabled  to  present  the  whole  of  this  interview, 
which  will  be  found  in  the  appendix  to  this  report. 

My  next  visit  was  to  Darlington,  Oklahoma,  where  is  located 
the  agency  for  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes.  I  arrived  there 
on  the  day  of  beef  issue,  and  large  numbers  of  both  tribes  were 
at  the  agency.  Beef  was  drying  at  every  tepee,  it  having  been 
cut  up  in  thin  slices  and  hung  on  lines.  The  Cheyennes  number 
about  two  thousand  and  the  Arapahoes  one  thousand.  They 
have  been  slightly  decreasing  in  number  during  the  last  decade. 
A  goodly  portion  but  not  all  of  the  children  of  school  age  of 
these  two  tribes  are  in  school.  There  are  at  the  present  time  in 
the  Arapahoe  school  at  Darlington,  one  hundred  and  ten  boys 
and  girls ;  in  the  Cheyenne  school  at  Caddo  Springs,  one 
hundred  and  ten ;  at  the  Seger  school,  sixty-five ;  at  the  Men- 
nonite,  at  Cantonment,  sixty;  and  at  Darlington,  fifteen.  I 
found  the  school  and  buildings  and  surroundings  kept  in  a  neat 
and  attractive  manner.  They  presented  a  marked  contrast  to 
their  condition  when  I  first  saw  them  in  the  autumn  of  1889. 
The  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  had  their  land  allotted  in  1891 
and  1892.  There  were  issued  in  all  3349  patents,  and  only 
twelve  double  allotments  were  made,  which  were  speedily  cor¬ 
rected.  This  was  remarkable  on  account  of  the  limited  time 
allowed  in  making  such  a  large  number  of  allotments.  The  re¬ 
sults  of  allotting  the  land  are  not  yet  what  its  friends  antici¬ 
pated.  Instead  of  the  Indians  living  on  their  individual  hold¬ 
ings,  they  are  still  in  bands,  camping  and  roaming  over  their 
combined  allotments.  It  was  hoped  they  would  live  upon  their 
individual  allotments,  and  thus  travel  the  white  man’s  road. 
The  Indian,  however,  is  timid  by  nature  when  he  is  alone.  He 
longs  for  companionship  ;  and  this  is  more  characteristic  of  the 
Indian  woman  than  of  the  man.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  white 
women  are  much  more  given  to  gossip  than  men.  If  this  is  so, 
it  is  true  in  a  much  larger  degree  of  the  Indian  women,  for  there 
is  nothing  that  they  delight  in  more  than  to  congregate  and  talk 
over  the  simple  gossip  of  the  camp,  the  reservation,  and  the 
tribe.  Before  the  Indian  will  live  upon  his  allotment,  he  will 
have  to  possess  much  greater  confidence  in  the  whites  than  he  has 
at  present,  and  feel  that  law  will  protect  him  as  well  as  the  white 
man. 


2 


1 8 


The  Indians  that  I  saw  on  the  day  of  my  arrival  had  in  some 
instances  been  traveling  since  the  preceding  Thursday  in  order 
to  arrive  in  season  for  the  issue,  and  would  not  be  able  to  return 
to  their  homes  until  the  following  Wednesday.  It  is  the  inten¬ 
tion  of  Captain  Woodson  to  have  several  places  of  issue  on  the 
reservation  to  which  the  cattle  can  be  driven  and'  slaughtered, 
and  this  will  save  the  Indians  a  great  amount  of  travel.  It  fre¬ 
quently  happens  during  their  absence  from  home  that  their 
farming  tools  and  other  property  are  stolen,  and  in  some  in¬ 
stances  even  the  windows  have  been  taken  from  their  houses. 
As  long  as  this  state  of  affairs  continues,  and  they  have  their 
present  distrust  of  the  whites,  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  induce 
them  to  live  upon  their  respective  holdings.  I  think,  however, 
the  plan  that  Captain  Woodson,  their  Agent,  has  in  mind,  if  put 
into  operation,  will  be  successful.  He  wishes  to  have  them  set¬ 
tled  on  their  respective  allotments,  and  use  a  portion  of  their 
money  that  is  now  on  deposit  in  the  United  States  Treasury  in 
building  houses  and  barns,  purchasing  teams  and  the  necessary 
farming  implements.  He  would  then  have  additional  farmers 
under  Government  pay  placed  over  them,  who  would  not  only 
be  farmers,  but  men  having  a  knowledge  of  the  common  laws 
of  the  Territory,  who  could  be  mediators  between  the  Indians 
and  the  whites  when  trouble  arose,  and  thus  bring  about  a  more 
kindly  feeling.  This  plan  of  Captain  Woodson  is  wise,  and 
should  be  carried  out.  In  order  for  the  money  to  be  used,  as 
suggested,  it  will  be  necessary  for  both  tribes  to  agree  to  the 
plan.  The  Arapahoes  have  already  agreed,  and  I  believe  that 
the  Cheyennes  will  after  further  consideration.  They  have  a 
million  dollars  in  the  United  States  Treasury,  and  a  portion  of 
it  could  be  spent  in  this  way  to  great  advantage. 

There  was  on  the  part  of  many  of  these  Indians,  as  with  other 
tribes,  opposition  to  allotment,  and  some  of  the  more  prominent 
Indians,  even  when  the  allotments  had  been  made,  declined  to 
receive  their  patents.  They  are,  however,  changing.  While  I 
was  sitting  in  the  office  conversing  with  Captain  Woodson,  he 
was  informed  that  Whirlwind,  the  only  hereditary  chief  of  the 
Cheyennes,  and  very  non-progressive,  who  had  refused  to  take 
his  allotment  and  receive  a  share  of  the  cash  payments,  wished 
to  talk  with  him  about  taking  his  land.  He  came  in  and 


19 


said  that  he  wanted  a  plat  of  his  land,  and  that  he  would  live 
on  it. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  the  Agent  wished  me  to 
go  out  and  attend  a  religious  or  Pawnee  dance,  as  called  by  the 
Indians.  This  was  about  three  miles  from  the  agency,  on  a  level 
tract  of  land.  There  was  an  arbor  arranged  in  the  form  of  a 
segment  of  a  circle,  very  much  after  the  plan  of  a  locomotive 
roundhouse,  and  the  place  where  the  dance  was  to  occur  occu¬ 
pied  the  same  position  relative  to  the  arbor  that  the  turntable 
does  to  the  roundhouse.  A  large  company  of  Indians  had 
assembled.  There  were  drums  and  seven  drummers  and  twenty 
dancers,  some  of  whom  were  women.  After  the  Agent  and  my¬ 
self  had  been  received  by  the  chiefs  and  given  seats,  the  dancers 
took  their  position.  The  male  dancers  were  nearly  naked. 
Their  bodies  were  painted,  and  they  had  bells  around  their  legs 
and  waists.  They  had  eagle  feathers  in  their  hair,  for,  as  Little 
Raven  informed  me,  the  birds  fly  about  when  rain  is  coming,  and 
these  feathers  typified  birds.  A  dish  of  chuck ,  as  it  was  termed 
by  the  Indians,  was  to  be  blessed  before  the  eating  began.  This 
ceremony  of  blessing  began  at  1.30  p.  m.  Little  Raven,  Jr., 
son  of  the  old  Chief,  presided,  and  gave  me  much  information 
concerning  the  dance  and  its  significance.  The  weather  was 
very  dry,  and  had  been  for  some  time,  and  the  Indians  were 
anxious  that  there  should  be  a  rainfall  to  refresh  the  parched 
ground  and  prevent  their  crops  from  drying  up.  Little  Raven 
informed  me  that  the  streaks  of  paint  on  the  various  parts  of 
their  bodies  were  typical  of  lightning,  while  the  yellow  rings 
represented  raindrops.  The  black  paint  represented  rain  clouds. 
The  upper  half  of  the  face  was  painted  red,  and  the  lower  half 
black.  The  strings  of  bells  around  their  waists  and  just  below 
their  knees  were  ordinary  sleigh  bells,  such  as  you  would  find 
on  the  old-fashioned  New  England  cutter.  Row-of-Lodges  and 
Left  Hand,  old,  respected,  and  prominent  chiefs,  were  present. 
All  of  this  ceremony  was  carried  on  ostensibly  under  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  the  United  States  Government,  for  in  the  center  of  the 
dancing  ground  a  United  States  flag  was  flying.  The  chuck,  or 
food,  consisted  of  coffee,  crackers,  meat,  and  fried  bread.  Be¬ 
fore  the  prayer  or  blessing  began,  Left  Hand  gave  the  Agent  a 
pipe  of  peace.  He  took  a  few  whiffs  and  handed  it  to  me,  and 


20 


I  did  the  same,  when  it  was  returned.  While  the  dancers  were 
engaged  in  the  act  of  blessing  the  food,  they  had  arrows  in  their 
hands,  which,  as  they  advanced  in  even  line,  they  pointed 
towards  the  food  (signifying  that  arrows  in  the  old  time  were 
used  in  killing  game),  and  then  pointing  them  up  to  heaven  in 
thanks  to  the  Giver  of  all  good.  It  was  both  a  feast  and  a 
dance.  Presently  the  dancers  moved  further  forward  out  into 
the  sun  to  offer  the  blessing.  The  food  was  brought  on,  mainly 
in  large  tin  dishes,  which  were  placed  near  together,  in  two 
parallel  rows  about  thirty  feet  long.  When  they  began  to  ask 
the  blessing  they  knelt  and  faced  the  sun.  They  prayed  for 
rain ;  asked  God’s  blessing  upon  all,  here  and  everywhere. 
They  said  in  their  prayer  that  the  Day  of  Judgment  was  coming, 
and  that  all  must  be  judged.  All  bowed  their  heads  during  the 
blessing.  The  Agent  and  I  did  not  know  what  was  coming  at 
this  juncture,  and  when  we  failed  to  take  off  our  hats,  through 
our  ignorance  of  their  ceremony,  we  were  politely  requested  to 
do  so.  The  prelude  to  the  blessing,  or  the  greeting,  as  they 
termed  it,  was  long,  and  the  prayer  longer.  Little  Raven,  Jr., 
knelt  and  held  up  his  right  hand  as  he  prayed.  His  tone  of 
vqice  was  that  of  devotion  and  supplication.  At  this  juncture 
the  dancers  took  up  the  dishes  containing  the  food,  and  moved 
the  two  lines  thirty  feet  apart,  and  then  formed  between  them. 
Little  Raven  in  his  prayer  said:  “  Look  upon  us,  my  Father. 
My  Father,  we  pray  for  rain.”  With  outstretched 'hands  the 
dancers  advanced  toward  each  other  several  times  and  retreated. 
Now  and  then  a  shrill,  piping  voice  would  be  heard,  followed 
by  a  loud,  shrill  chorus. 

Then  the  movements  of  birds,  as  they  scurry  across  the  sky- 
before  the  rain  falls,  were  imitated.  Native  flutes,  to  which 
feathers  were  attached,  were  blown  continually  while  asking  the 
blessing.  There  was  also  flying,  in  addition  to  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  a  white  flag,  which  indicated  that  all  must  be  clean  in 
heart. 

There  was  more  drumming  before  getting  ready  to  eat.  At 
times  there  was  something  like  merriment  mingled  with  the  ser¬ 
vices.  The  sub-leader  watched  continuously  Little  Raven,  and 
he  and  his  band  imitated  his  every  movement.  The  buckskins  of 
the  women  were  ornamented  with  string  fringes.  While  the  men 


21 


were  nearly  naked,  the  women  were  becomingly  and  properly 
dressed.  As  is  always  the  case,  the  men  and  women  danced 
apart  from  each  other.  It  is  the  custom  when  food  is  being  dis¬ 
tributed,  for  some  prominent  Indian  to  rise  up  and  give  the  tribe 
some  good  advice.  Left  Hand  said  :  “  I  want  you  to  think  for 
yourselves.  We  are  to  be  made  good  by  this  chorus.  We  are 
to  think  more  and  more  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  have  good 
hearts  and  be  made  better.  The  Great  Spirit  will  help  us.  He 
will  keep  us  from  stealing  and  doing  other  wrong  things.  This 
is  the  advice  that  the  Agent  always  gives  us,  and  this  will  make 
us  all  right  every  way.  We  should  work  and  keep  our  children 
in  school,  and  our  children  will  do  better  than  we  can  do,  and 
will  think  of  God.  We  help  the  young  to  think  of  the  Great 
Spirit.  That  is  why  I  advise  putting  the  children  in  school.  If 
we  do  these  things  we  ask  of  God,  He  will  love  us  and  we  will  be 
friends  with  every  one.  We  now  have  found  out  how  to  worship 
the  Great  Spirit,  and  now  we  do  not  cut  and  slash  ourselves,  as 
we  did  in  the  olden  time.  When  our  friends  are  taken  away,  we 
bury  them,  instead  of  leaving  them  on  the  ground  or  putting 
them  up  in  trees.  I  want  you  to  listen  to  me,  and  then 
you  can  read  this  Bible  (pointing  to  a  Bible  on  the  ground), 
and  live  and  dress  like  white  people.  My  friends  before  me  make 
a  report  to  the  Commissioner,  and  I  hope  that  this  will  meet 
with  his  favor.  It  is  four  years  since  we  have  had  this  form  of 
dance,  and  we  will  have  a  still  better  form  in  the  future,  as  we 
become  more  intelligent.  Tell  the  Agent  the  dance  is  good.  I 
am  old.  If  this  was  bad,  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
We  consider  this  sacred.  God  sent  His  son  to  live  among  white 
people,  and  He  hopes  there  are  more  good  than  bad,  and  we 
have  learned  there  is  a  Father  in  Heaven.  He  hopes  the  chil¬ 
dren  in  the  Eastern  schools  are  learning,  and  this  prayer  is  to 
them  too.”  He  then  came  forward  and  shook  hands  with  each 
of  us,  sat  down,  and  said  he  wanted  the  Agent  and  me  to  talk  to 
them,  and  we  did  so,  speaking  very  briefly.  When  the  blessing 
began  it  was  1.30  p.m.,  and  when  we  ceased  our  brief  talks  it 
was  four  o’clock,  and  I  think  we  were  as  hungry  as  the  Indians 
themselves.  The  length  of  an  Indian’s  blessing  is  a  good 
appetizer  or  tonic,  but  a  little  trying  to  his  white  brother’s 
patience. 


22 


I  was  very  much  impressed  with  the  prayer,  the  talk,  and  the 
appearance  of  Little  Raven,  Jr.  He  was  a  fine  specimen  of 
manhood,  and  there  was  evidently  much  of  devotion  in  his 
prayer  and  in  his  service.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  come  to  the 
Agent’s  office  on  the  next  day  and  tell  me  all  about  this  dance. 
He  promised  to  be  there  at  eleven  o’clock.  He  came  promptly, 
and  gave  me  the  following  account:  — 

“  He  had  heard  of  some  one  in  the  North,  and  that  he  had  re¬ 
ceived  a  great  blessing.  His  name  was  John  Wilson.  I  found 
out  where  he  was  located  ;  I  think  they  call  it  Wyoming.  I  went 
up  there  and  saw  him,  and  told  him  to  tell  Little  Raven  all  about 
this  new  profession.  By  report,  some  things  were  made  too 
great,  but  he  wanted  me  to  know  all  about  it.  The  Great  Father 
had  blessed  him,  and  had  given  him  a  new  lesson.  He  would 
describe  this  new  dance,  and  he  must  not  forget  it.  See  that  he 
associates  with  good  men.  He  must  be  straight,  honest,  and 
have  good  friends.  He  must  be  good,  and  treat  every  one  good. 
And  he  had  a  dream  that  he  ought  to  tell  this  to  other  Indians. 
This  voice  said  this  new  dance  was  for  Indians.  They  cannot 
read  the  Bible,  and  in  this  way  they  can  get  their  knowledge  of 
it.  The  Lord  has  blessed  the  white  man  with  a  book,  and  in  it 
Christ,  and  in  this  dance  the  Lord  speaks,  and  these  school  chil¬ 
dren  will  learn  about  the  Bible.  He  must  be  in  harmony  with 
every  one,  must  quit  all  his  Indian  habits,  and  stop  horse  steal¬ 
ing,  and  make  them  live  better.  Wilson  said  to  me  that  in  this 
way  the  Indian  would  be  honest  and  would  have  friends ;  that 
he  must  not  keep  back  anything  from  the  whites  or  Indians; 
that  there  must  be  no  underhanded  schemes.-  Tell  the  Indians 
they  must  worship  the  Great  Father  in  Heaven,  and  give  up 
their  old  habits.  As  a  nation  on  earth,  the  whites  have  taught 
us  there  is  a  Great  Father  in  Heaven,  and  this  dance  teaches  us 
that  they  will  get  to  Heaven  and  escape  the  bad  place.  Wilson 
said  he  preached  out  publicly,  and  people  liked  him,  and  Little 
Raven  could  do  the  same.  If  other  Indians  do  anything  wrong, 
to  pray  and  try  to  get  them  on  the  right  road.  He  had  told 
these  same  things  to  the  whites,  and  they  would  see  it  was  right. 
Wilson  said  ministers  and  other  Christians  had  visited  him,  and 
he  had  told  them  of  this  voice,  and  so  for  this  reason  he  tells  me 
everything  to  tell  the  Government,  and  have  good  religion. 


23 


Little  Raven  believes  in  worshiping  the  Great  Father  in  Heaven. 
Other  Indians  worship  different,  just  like  denominations  among 
the  whites.  He  was  forced  to  believe,  because  everything  has 
come  as  Wilson  said.  Wilson  said  tell  every  one,  and  through 
an  interpreter  not  prejudiced.  Whenever  he  saw  any  one  wor¬ 
shiping  wrong,  he  stopped  him  and  told  him  how  to  worship. 
White  men  had  many  ways  of  worshiping,  and  Wilson  said 
do  the  same.  When  Wilson  got  through  talking,  he  presented 
this  new  dance.  These  things — imitating  birds,  wearing  feathers, 
and  whistling — corresponded  to  various  portions  of  the  white 
men’s  service.  The  white  man  uses  organs,  etc.  ;  the  Indian, 
drums  and  whistles.  The  whole  nation  was  placed  on  this  earth 
with  a  drum,  and,  if  anything  was  said  against  the  drum,  he  was 
off.  He  thus  gave  him  another  dance.  He  went  to  preaching 
about  this  when  he  came  back,  and  they  saw  into  it  without 
being  told  fully.  The  old  way  of  living  was  not  the  way.  When 
they  died,  they  used  to  slash  their  bodies.  He  is  now  following 
a  new  lesson  and  way  of  living.  Before  he  had  anything  to  do 
with  this  dance,  they  were  disobedient  to  the  Great  Father.  He 
had  never  heard  of  Christ  and  the  new  way  before.  He  was 
living  naked  and  bloody  when  he  had  lost  a  friend,  and  tried  to 
kill  some  one,  or  to  raise  a  fight  with  some  one,  and  was  not 
willing  to  take  good  advice.  Everything  has  changed  among 
the  Indians  since  this  dance  has  been  practiced.  He  was  like  a 
boy,  crazy  against  the  Great  Father.  He  is  working  for  the 
Great  Father  now,  and  has  learned  a  great  many  good  things  for 
both  tribes,  and  was  doing  wrong  in  cutting  himself.  In  the 
dance  he  asks  the  Great  Father  to  bless  the  whites.  He  told 
them  to  be  like  the  whites ;  when  they  lost  their  friends,  to  fix 
up  and  be  of  good  feeling,  for  they  will  soon  see  their  friends. 
Their  children  will  soon  take  a  lead  with  the  Bible,  and  the 
dance  will  stay  behind.  There  are  three  different  ways  of 
dressing  for  the  dance:  First,  in  citizens’  clothes;  second,  in 
Indians’  clothes ;  and  third,  in  paints,  etc.  Since  he  had 
preached  this,  he  has  been  glad  to  meet  others  and  get  encour¬ 
aged.  He  believes  it,  because  it  is  like  Christianity.  At  Indian 
camps  they  are  always  willing  to  have  a  blessing  asked.  He  is 
going  to  tell  what  they  are  doing.  They  have  a  blessing  before 
they  eat,  just  like  white  people.  They  used  to  practice  hand 


gambling  as  one  of  their  games  a  long  time  ago  ;  now  there  is 
something  different.  They  cook  meat,  and  bread,  and  coffee, 
and  take  it  into  the  tepee,  where  they  used  to  gamble,  and  now 
they  have  food  just  like  white  people  have  ice-cream  after  a 
game  or  some  pleasant  gathering.  Another  way  is  to  sing  and 
pray  at  night.  A  few  gather  in  some  tepee  with  drum  and 
rattle,  and  have  something  to  eat.  He  said  he  believed  in  what 
he  saw  and  heard.  The  young  men  stay  at  night  and  have  a 
little  drum.  They  used  to  practice  the  scalp  dance,  the  sun 
dance,  the  war  dance,  and  the  ghost  dance,  but  they  have  been 
prohibited,  and  they  are  now  all  given  up.  The  Pawnee  dance 
is  the  only  one  that  is  allowed.” 

After  Little  Raven  had  given  me  this  description  of  the  dance, 
Cut  Nose  said  that  he  had  a  new  dance  that  he  wished  to  explain 
to  me.  As  I  had  been  listening  to  Little  Raven,  Jr.,  for  a  long 
time,  and  it  was  about  noon,  I  told  Cut  Nose  that  I  had  not  time 
to  hear  about  his  new  dance,  but  hoped  it  was  something  that 
was  beneficial  to  his  people.  He  said  that  he  believed  in  the 
old  dance,  but  that  the  new  dance  was  better.  He  said  that  he 
was  glad  to  see  me,  and  hear  what  I  had  to  say  to  Little  Raven 
and  the  other  Indians  at  the  dance  yesterday.  He  said  that  any¬ 
body  could  worship  God,  and  that  sometimes  a  person  can  be¬ 
lieve  what  he  sees.  He  said  that  while  Little  Raven’s  dance  was 
a  good  dance,  his  dance  was  better,  and  that  it  was  even  better 
than  the  dance  of  the  white  people  (referring  to  the  prayer¬ 
meeting),  for,  while  the  white  people  have  their  dance  or  prayer¬ 
meeting  for  only  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half,  his  dance,  which 
they  call  the  mescal  dance,  continues  all  night.  This  mescal 
dance  has,  very  properly,  been  prohibited  by  the  Indian  Office, 
because  the  participants  use  the  mescal  bean,  which  is  a  danger¬ 
ous  opiate  or  narcotic. 

My  own  idea  of  the  dance  that  I  witnessed  is  this  :  The  Indian 
is  by  nature  religious,  and  as  he  gives  up  gradually  his  barbarous 
practices,  he  is  looking  for  some  way  in  which  he  may  worship, 
and  yet  in  a  degree  retain  some  of  the  less  offensive  of  his  old- 
time  practices.  He  believes  in  the  Great  Spirit ;  he  has  come 
in  contact  with  the  whites,  and  has  learned  something  of  the 
details  of  their  religious  worship.  As  he  says,  he  has  no  knowl¬ 
edge  of  books,  but  believes  in  the  Great  Father,  and  this  dance 


25 


is  his  form  of  religious  worship.  I  think,  however,  that  this 
must  be  taken  with  some  allowance,  for  the  Indian  is  crafty  and 
cunning,  and  is  very  much  attached  to  his  former  practices,  his 
rites  and  customs.  I  think  it  would  be  wise,  as  I  stated  to  Agent 
Woodson,  for  this  dance  to  be  allowed,  but  with  the  idea  that 
it  is  to  be  held  with  increasing  infrequency,  and  ultimately 
abandoned. 

As  the  attention  of  the  general  public  has  been  so  frequently 
called  to  the  rations  issued  to  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  on 
account  of  the  claim  that  they  were  starving,  or  on  the  verge  of 
starvation,  I  looked  into  this  matter  very  carefully  and  present 
the  following  tables.  A  reference  to  the  first  will  show  a  large 
reduction  made  after  their  land  had  been  allotted.  The  last 
shows  a  marked  increase.  It  is  now,  I  believe,  sufficient,  with 
the  exception  of  coffee  and  sugar  :  — 

A  STATEMENT  OF  SUPPLIES  furnished  for  the  subsistence  of  the 
Cheyenne  and  Arapahoe  Tribes  of  Indians,  Cheyenne  and  Arapahoe 
Agency,  Oklahoma  Territory,  during  the  fiscal  years  of  1891,  1892,  and 
1893- 


Articles. 

H 

00 

H 

1892. 

i893- 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Beef,  gross, . 

3,000,000 

3,000,000 

1,500,000 

Bacon,  . 

100,000 

100,000 

60,000 

Baking  Powder, . 

5,000 

5,000 

4,000 

Beans, . 

30,000 

30,000 

Coffee, . 

37,000 

36,400 

15,000 

Flour, . 

550,000 

481,250 

250,000 

Salt, . 

20,281 

19,000 

19,700 

Soap, . 

18,000 

18,000 

18,000 

Sugar, . 

70,000 

70,000 

35,ooo 

ESTIMATE  OF  BEEF  AND  FLOUR  required  to  subsist  the  Cheyenne 
and  Arapahoe  Indians,  from  January  I,  1S94,  to  June  30,  1894. 


Beef. 

Quantity  required  to  issue  2J-  pounds  gross  per  day  to  3000  Indians 

on  basis  of  1891  ration  table, . 1,404,000 

Quantity  to  be  received  from  John  T.  Blanks  under  contract,  from 

January  I,  1894,  to  June  30,  1894, . 1,015,302 

Balance  required, . 388,568 


2  6 


Flour. 

Quantity  required  to  issue  X  pound  per  day  each  to  3000  Indians,  273,000 
Quantity  to  be  received  under  contract  of  C.  H.  Searing,  from 

January  I,  1894,  to  June  30,  1894, . 135,290 


Balance  required, . 

Quantity  required  each  month  : — 

Beef, . 

Flour, . 

Comparison  between  quantities  furnished  in  fiscal  years  of  1891  and 

1891. 

Beef, . 3,000,000 

Flour, . 550,000 


137,710 

234,000 

45,5°° 
1894 : — 
1894. 

!,  75°, 000 
250,000 


A  STATEMENT  OF  SUPPLIES  for  the  subsistence  of  the  Cheyenne  and 
Arapahoe  Tribes  of  Indians,  Cheyenne  and  Arapahoe  Agency,  Oklahoma 
Territory.  Kind  and  quantities  estimated  for  and  allowed  for  the  fiscal 
year  of  1894,  with  table  of  daily  ration. 


Articles. 

Estimated 

for. 

Estimate 

Reduced. 

Allowed. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Beef,  gross, . 

2,500,000 

750,000 

1,750,000 

Bacon,  . 

75,000 

15,000 

60,000 

Baking  Powder, . 

5,000 

1,000 

4,000 

Beans, . 

10,000 

10,000 

Coffee, . 

35,000 

20,000 

15,000 

Flour, . 

400,000 

100,000 

300,000 

Soap, . 

15,000 

3,000 

12,000 

Sugar, . 

55,000 

20,050 

34,95° 

Table  of  Daily  Ration. 

Beef, . 

Bacon, . 

Baking  Powder, . 

Beans, . 

Coffee, . 

Flour,  . . 

Soap,  . 

Sugar, . 

Salt, . 

Number  of  Indians, . 

One  head  of  beef  issued  to  twenty  persons  every  fourth  week. 
Other  subsistence  supplies  issued  every  second  week. 

Number  of  Indians  issued  to  in  fiscal  year  1892, . 

Number  of  Indians  issued  to  in  fiscal  year  1893, . 

Decrease  in  number  of  Indians  by  death, . 


I2j£  ozs. 
Not  received. 


f  oz. 
X  oz. 
4f  ozs. 

f  oz. 
I  J  ozs. 
f-  oz. 

3,084 


3,269 

3,210 

185 


I 


27 


The  civil  service  rules  and  regulations  were  well  observed  both 
at  the  agency  and  the  schools  near  by. 

On  the  1 6th  of  June  I  left  the  agency  at  Darlington,  and 
proceeded  to  Seger  Colony,  some  sixty  miles  distant.  The 
journey  required  the  entire  day,  and  led  across  portions  of  the 
Caddo  Reservation,  and  was  not  interrupted  by  anything  unusual 
except  now  and  then  wild  turkeys  running  through  the  tall  grass 
by  the  roadside.  The  Caddos  have  been  in  this  locality  for 
many  years,  are  self-supporting,  have  made  much  progress  in 
agriculture  and  stock  raising,  and  should  be  required  to  take  their 
allotments  as  soon  as  arrangements  can  be  made  therefor.  I 
found  that  quite  a  portion  of  their  land  was  rich,  that  they 
owned  large  horses,  and  in  some  instances  mules  and  herds  of 
cattle.  I  passed  by  the  house  and  farm  of  White  Bread,  the 
Caddo  chief,  who  dresses  in  citizen’s  clothes,  and  is  a  fine  speci¬ 
men  of  what  can  be  made  of  a  full-blooded  Indian.  All  the 
surroundings  of  his  place  indicated  prosperity.  He  has  a  herd  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  as  fine  cattle  as  can  be  found  on  any  Kansas 
or  Nebraska  ranch.  He  also  had  a  number  of  fine  horses,  and  a 
mile  from  his  house  there  was  a  field  of  at  least  fifty  acres  of 
excellent  corn. 

The  school  at  Seger  deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  It 
is  impossible  to  think  of  it  apart  from  Supt.  John  H.  Seger, 
whose  name  the  school,  the  neighboring  town,  and  this  part  of 
the  country,  bears.  The  school  was  established  by  ex-Commis- 
sioner  Morgan,  and  has  been  in  operation  a  little  more  than  two 
years.  It  is  situated  on  Cobb  Creek,  fifty-five  miles  from  the 
nearest  railway  station,  and  sixty  miles  from  the  Agency.  There 
are  four  sections  of  land  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  school.  The 
buildings  and  the  larger  part  of  the  school  grounds  are  situated 
in  a  beautiful  grove,  which  has  been  appropriately  termed  Seger’s 
Glen.  This  grove  comprises  forty  acres,  and  contains  twenty- 
five  varieties  of  trees,  many  of  which  are  large  and  furnish  with 
their  wide-spreading  branches  abundant  shade.  There  is  near 
by  a  never-failing  spring  of  cool,  soft,  clear,  sweet  water,  some¬ 
thing  that  is  rather  unusual  in  this  part  of  the  Territory.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  under  cultivation,  and  two 
sections  under  fence.  In  the  school  herd  are  more  than  two 
hundred  head  of  cattle,  and,  in  addition  to  numerous  horses  and 


28 


mules,  there  are  twenty  swine.  The  school  numbers  sixty-five 
pupils,  who,  with  the  employees,  are  crowded  into  the  same  build¬ 
ing.  The  crying  need  of  the  school  is  the  erection  of  a  large  and 
commodious  dormitory  for  girls,  for  the  school  population  of  this 
part  of  the  reservation  numbers  one  hundred  and  forty-five. 

I  found  the  school  in  good  condition  and  doing  splendid  work 
in  all  the  departments.  Its  influence  for  good  upon  this  portion 
of  the  reservation  can  hardly  be  over-estimated. 

In  this  connection  there  ought  to  be  given  a  brief  sketch  of 
the  so-called  “  Seger  Colony,”  which  preceded  the  establishment 
of  the  school.  Mr.  John  H.  Seger  is  a  little  less  than  fifty  years 
of  age,  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  has  been  employed  in  various 
capacities  in  the  United  States  Indian  Service  for  a  period  of 
twenty-one  years.  In  1886  the  idea  was  conceived  of  taking  a 
large  number  of  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  at  a  long  distance 
from  the  agency,  and  setting  them  to  work  farming.  Mr.  Seger, 
from  his  long  experience  in  handling  Indians,  was  selected  for  this 
difficult,  arduous,  and  in  some  respects  dangerous  undertaking. 
In  the  fall  of  1886  he  set  out  from  the  agency  with  one  hundred 
and  twenty  Indians,  and  later  with  three  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
subsequently  others  came,  until  there  were  six  hundred  that  con¬ 
stituted  what  has  become  known  throughout  the  country  as  the 
Seger  Colony.  This  was  a  new  method  of  solving  the  Indian 
question,  and  many  predicted  its  failure.  Under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Seger  they  adopted  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  and  many 
of  them  made  considerable  progress  in  building  houses,  breaking 
land,  and  taking  other  steps  necessary  to  become  self-sustaining 
farmers.  Unfortunately,  just  as  a  good  start  had  been  made  on 
the  road  to  self-support,  various  obstacles  presented  themselves, 
which  Supt.  Seger  classifies  under  the  head  of  five  set-backs. 
The  first  was  a  report  circulated  among  them  that  they  were  to  be 
moved  to  Old  Oklahoma.  On  this  account  they  failed  in  the 
spring  and  early  summer  to  plow  and  put  in  their  crops.  The 
second  set-back  was  caused  by  treating  for  the  sale  of  their  land. 
In  one  respect  an  Indian  is  like  a  horse.  He  can  think  of  only 
one  thing  at  a  time  ;  so  the  Indians  were  all  engrossed  in  these 
propositions,  one  by  one,  as  they  were  taken  up.  The  third  set¬ 
back  was  the  taking  of  their  allotments  and  receiving  their  first 
cash  payment.  They  bought  stock  on  credit,  and  used  a  great 


29 


deal  of  time  in  doing  this  business.  The  fourth  set-back  was  in 
receiving  their  second  payment  in  money.  They  worked  hard 
to  get  this  measure  through  Congress  ;  and  when  the  money  was 
received,  they  consumed  the  entire  summer  in  spending  it.  The 
fifth  and  last  set-back  was  the  devoting  a  year  to  regretting  that 
they  had  sold  their  land,  had  spent  their  money,  and  had  little 
or  nothing  to  show  for  it.  They  are,  however,  now  beginning 
to  realize  that  they  must  work  ;  and  as  soon  as  their  treaty, 
which  has  only  three  more  years  to  run,  expires,  I  think  there 
will  be  no  trouble  in  inducing  them  to  go  about  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  and  depend  upon  themselves  for  their  livelihood. 

If  these  various  obstacles  had  not  been  encountered,  this  part 
of  the  former  reservation  known  as  Seger  Colony,  would  now  be 
fairly  well  cultivated.  I  visited,  with  Mr.  Seger,  the  larger  part 
of  the  colony  where  the  allotments  had  been  made.  We  started 
in  the  morning  at  eight  o’clock,  and,  with  the  exception  of  stop¬ 
ping  twice  for  food  and  change  of  horses,  we  drove  until  a  little 
after  midnight.  I  found  some  thirty-five  Indians  who  had  fields 
of  corn  or  wheat  or  oats,  and  in  some  instances  vegetable  gar¬ 
dens.  In  numerous  instances  these  fields  of  grain  were  large  in 
extent.  Little  Chief,  one  of  the  Indians  that  came  out  to  this 
colony  with  Mr.  Seger  when  it  was  established,  had  a  fine  field 
of  twenty-five  acres  of  corn,  oats,  and  wheat.  He  also  had  a 
vegetable  garden,  and  took  considerable  pride  in  digging  into  a 
hill  of  potatoes  and  handing  me  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Early  Rose 
variety.  He  has  been  on  his  land  eight  years,  and  lives  in  a 
house.  His  wheat  will  yield  heavily ;  I  should  judge  from  ap¬ 
pearances  not  less  than  twenty-five  bushels  to  the  acre.  He 
selected  his  land  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Washita,  started  in 
a  small  way,  and  bought  everything  himself.  The  first  year, 
having  no  team,  he  hired  his  land  broken,  and  then  sold  his 
wheat  and  used  the  proceeds  in  buying  a  team  of  horses.  He 
now  has  two  miles  of  fence.  I  found  the  thriftiest  Indians  near 
the  farmers  and  the  school.  It  was  not  so  when  the  school  was 
established  and  the  farmers  were  first  appointed.  This  shows 
the  importance  of  employing  more  farmers,  and  having  them 
sufficiently  near  the  Indians,  so  that  they  can  easily  reach  them 
for  consultation,  as  well  as  for  the  farmers  to  reach  the  Indians 


3° 


readily,  and  show  them  how  to  till  their  land  and  manage  their 
farms. 

One  of  the  obstacles  to  the  Indians  settling  upon  their  indi¬ 
vidual  allotments  and  becoming  farmers  in  reality  as  well  as  in 
name,  is  the  hostility  of  many  of  the  Whites  to  everything  that  is 
for  the  best  good  of  the  Indian.  It  is  not  many  years  since  this 
entire  land  was  rented  by  cattle-men,  and  they  are  still  anxious 
to  obtain,  if  possible,  either  by  fair  or  foul  means,  the  Indians’ 
land,  so  that  they  can  graze  their  cattle  as  in  the  past.  The 
feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Whites,  especially  the  Texans,  is  quite 
bitter  against  the  Indians.  Not  long  ago,  while  the  District 
Attorney  of  this  county  was  empaneling  a  jury,  he  asked  such 
questions  as  these:  “Where  are  you  from?”  “I  am  from 
Texas.”  “Have  you  any  prejudice  against  the  Indians?” 
“No,  sir;  only  the  prejudice  that  the  average  Texan  would 
have.”  “  You  will  be  excused  from  service,”  was  the  reply. 
This  shows  the  general  feeling  of  the  Texans  against  the  Indians. 
I  would  not  wish  to  assert  that  all  the  Texas  cow-punchers 
entertain  these  ideas  against  the  Indians,  but  the  truth  is,  the 
majority  of  them  do.  The  grazing  laws  have  at  various  times 
been  a  source  of  trouble.  There  has  been  the  “free  range” 
law,  which  permitted  the  owners  of  cattle  to  allow  them  to  roam 
at  their  own  sweet  will.  There  has  also  been  the  “herd  ”  law, 
which  requires  the  owners  to  restrain  them  by  fences.  The 
“free  range”  law  is  what  the  cattle-men  in  this  part  of  the 
country  want.  It  was  voted  by  quite  a  majority,  and  the  Indians, 
who  are  citizens  by  law,  did  not  vote,  for  they  were  told  by  the 
cow-punchers  that  if  they  did  vote,  their  property  would  be 
taxed,  and  this  caused  them  to  refrain  from  going  to  the  ballot- 
boxes  and  casting  a  ballot  against  the  “  free  range  ”  law  and  in 
favor  of  the  “herd”  law.  However,  there  is  a  judge  at  the 
county  seat  who  is  made  of  the  right  stuff,  and  has  declared  that 
the  “  free  range  ”  law,  inasmuch  as  the  Indians  had  no  voice  in 
making  it,  is  unconstitutional,  and  thus  far  the  Indians  have  been 
protected. 

This  part  of  Oklahoma  is  going  through  the  same  experiences 
that  were  familiar  in  the  early  days  to  the  Pan  Handle  of  Texas 
and  Western  Kansas.  Such  high-handed  measures  were  resorted 


3i 


to  that  settlers  were  driven  out  of  Western  Texas  and  Western 
Kansas.  Men  were  purposely  dressed  up  like  Indians,  so  that 
the  scattering  white  settlers  might  really  feel  that  the  Indians 
were  on  the  warpath.  Attempts  have  been  made  in  Oklahoma 
to  cause  an  Indian  uprising,  so  that  they  would  go  off  and  leave 
their  land,  and  thus  render  a  herd  law  practically  inoperative. 
Some  two  or  three  months  ago  there  occurred  in  this  country 
what  was  known  as  the  Washita  Indian  War.  I  was  in  the  East 
at  the  time,  and  met  several  people  who  took  particular  pains,  as 
they  knew  I  was  interested  in  the  Indians,  to  condemn  them, 
and  recommended  they  should  be  killed  off.  I  replied  that  when 
the  truth  was  known,  the  people  would  learn  that  the  Whites 
were  to  blame  rather  than  the  Indians.  The  Washita  War 
originated,  as  I  have  learned  from  people  who  were  there  and 
knew  all  the  circumstances,  in  the  following  way :  A  cow- 
puncher  was  riding  by  an  Indian’s  house,  near  which  was  a  cow 
and  a  calf.  The  owner  of  the  property  was  away  from  home. 
When  the  cow-puncher  learned  this,  he  untied  the  calf,  drove  it 
off,  and  tied  the  rope  to  his  saddle.  The  Indian  on  learning  of 
this,  and  in  order  to  get  even,  goes  off  and  steals  a  horse  from  a 
white  man.  The  latter  misses  his  horse,  begins  to  look  around, 
and  finds  an  Indian  has  it,  and  without  making  any  further  in¬ 
vestigation,  shoots  at  the  Indian  twice.  Fortunately  for  the 
Indian,  but  unfortunately  for  the  white  man,  he  missed  his  mark. 
The  Indian  at  once  went  to  his  house,  got  his  Winchester,  and 
shot  twice,  killing  one  man  and  injuring  another.  The  report 
was  then  sent  out,  that  there  was  an  uprising,  that  the  Indians 
were  on  the  warpath,  and  that  all  the  Whites  in  that  part  of  the 
country  were  to  be  massacred.  In  the  midst  of  this  excitement, 
a  white  man  who  ought  to  have  known  better,  for  he  had  for 
years  been  acquainted  with  these  Indians,  rode  hastily  and  in 
an  excited  manner  to  the  Seger  school,  where  the  superintendent 
was  busy  issuing  beef  to  a  large  number  of  Indians,  who  had 
gathered  there  for  that  purpose.  He  announced  that  the  In¬ 
dians  were  on  the  warpath  and  that  scalping  had  taken  place, 
and  that  the  Indians  should  go  to  their  homes  at  once  to  protect 
their  wives,  their  children,  and  their  property.  Mr.  Seger  was 
fortunately  at  the  school,  or  there  might  have  been  an  uprising 
that  would  have  caused  many  deaths.  He  told  the  Indians  he 


32 


did  not  think  the  report  was  reliable,  and  that  the  best  thing 
they  could  do  was  to  remain  quietly  at  the  issue,  receive  their 
rations,  and  then  pass  quietly  home,  and  he  believed  there 
would  be  no  uprising.  This  is  the  foundation,  briefly  stated, 
for  the  long  and  numerous  dispatches  that  were  flashed  over 
the  country  last  spring  concerning  the  Indian  uprising  in 
Oklahoma. 

I  remarked  above  that  the  Seger  school  was  in  good  condition. 
This  would,  however,  have  been  greatly  changed  for  the  worse  if 
the  recommendations  of  a  United  States  Indian  Inspector  had 
been  finally  carried  out  by  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  In¬ 
terior.  This  inspector  was  formerly  an  efficient  Indian  agent. 
When  the  Harrison  administration  came  in,  he  was  dismissed 
from  the  service,  in  accordance  with  the  spoils  system  that  has 
prevailed  so  long.  As  he  was  an  efficient  agent  he  should  have 
been  retained,  and  I  presume  very  naturally  feels  bitter  that  he 
lost  his  position.  However,  I  cannot  consider  this  a  sufficient 
justification  for  the  course  he  took  in  his  recommendations  con¬ 
cerning  the  clerk  and  farmer  at  the  Seger  Colony.  He  is  a 
genuine  spoilsman,  and  should  be  muzzled  or  at  once  called 
down.  He  arrived  at  the  Seger  Colony  about  five  p.  m.  early  in 
May.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival,  Superintendent  Seger  was  at 
some  distance  from  the  school,  at  work  in  the  field.  A  messen¬ 
ger  was  sent  to  inform  him  that  an  inspector  had  arrived,  but 
before  the  superintendent  could  get  to  the  school  the  inspector 
started  for  the  town.  He  was  evidently  after  scalps.  To  speak 
figuratively,  he  seems  to  be  going  around  with  a  tomahawk  at  one 
side  and  scalps  dangling  at  the  other,  only  in  this  case,  thanks 
to  the  justice  of  Secretary  Hoke  Smith,  the  scalps  of  the  clerk 
and  farmer  didn’t  dangle  worth  a  cent.  He  was  very  unsociable 
while  at  the  school,  and  scarcely  noticed  any  one,  and  the  em¬ 
ployees,  of  whom  I  inquired  concerning  him,  remarked  that 
they  could  not  see  that  his  visit  had  been  of  any  use  whatever  to 
the  Seger  School,  for  he  made  no  suggestions,  and  did  nothing 
that  could  be  construed  in  the  line  of  helpfulness.  He  told  the 
superintendent  he  wanted  to  look  around  sharply  and  find  out 
what  he  could,  for  there  were  some  politicians  who  were  holding 
down  positions  at  the  Seger  School.  I  was  informed  that  he 
met  people  and  asked  them  if  they  hadn’t  something  they  could 


33 


bring  against  the  superintendent,  but  they  said  they  had  nothing. 
He  said  to  Mr.  Seger,  “  Who  is  this  clerk?”  referring  to  Mr. 
Davis,  the  very  efficient  and  experienced  clerk.  He  remarked 
that  he  had  no  special  qualifications  for  the  place  ;  that  he  was 
partisan.  He  also  asked  who  the  farmer  was,  and  said  he  was 
a  politician,  and  accused  Mr.  Seger  of  appointing  them  because 
they  were  Republicans.  He  said,  “  This  looks  as  if  there  were 
no  competent  Democrats  to  hold  these  positions.  You  may  yet 
have  to  divvy  up.  It  is  damned  funny  no  one  competent  can 
be  found  anywhere  about  to  fill  these  positions  but  Republicans.” 
He  arrived  at  five  p.  m.,  and  left  the  next  day  at  one  p.  m.,  and 
had  never  been  there  before.  A  few  days  after  Superintendent 
Seger  received  word  from  Washington  that  the  clerk  and  farmer 
were  to  be  relieved. 

It  is  true  that  these  two  employees  have,  in  times  past,  held 
political  positions  and  have  done  political  work ;  but  they  state 
that  they  have  held  no  political  positions  and  have  done  no 
political  work  since  they  have  occupied  their  respective  positions 
at  the  Seger  School.  They  were  selected  by  Mr.  Seger  inde¬ 
pendently  of  politics ;  for  every  one  who  knows  Mr.  Seger  is 
well  aware  that  he  would  not  be  influenced  at  all  by  political 
considerations  in  the  selection  of  employees.  The  fact  is  that 
Mr.  Seger,  who  has  been  many  years  in  the  Indian  Service,  de¬ 
sires  to  so  advance  this  school  as  to  place  it  on  a  self-supporting 
basis.  He  has  been  so  long  in  the  service  that  his  ambition 
now  is  to  spend  the  next  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  his  life,  if  he 
can  be  undisturbed  in  so  doing,  in  placing  this  institution  upon 
a  self-supporting  basis  and  bringing  it  up  to  a  high  plane.  He 
believes  that,  if  he  can  be  allowed  to  continue  to  surround  him¬ 
self  with  a  competent  force  of  employees,  the  school  will  in  a 
few  years  be  entirely  self-supporting. 

Superintendent  Seger  is  a  unique  character.  His  school  ad¬ 
vantages,  when  young,  were  very  limited,  and  he  makes  no 
claim  to  book  learning,  but  his  knowledge  of  practical  things  is 
unlimited.  He  is  loaded  to  the  water’s  edge  with  that  rare 
quality  known  as  gumption  or  horse  sense.  He  thoroughly  un¬ 
derstands  the  Indian,  and  believes  a  man  can  be  made  of  him, 
and  the  Indian  in  turn  thoroughly  believes  in  Superintendent 
Seger.  He  is  a  master  of  circumstances,  and  understands  the 

3 


34 


situation  so  fully,  that  I  have  no  doubt,  if  he  is  not  interfered 
with,  he  will  be  able  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  In  the  selection 
of  employees  his  aim  has  been,  as  the  school  is  yet  compara¬ 
tively  small,  to  find  those  who  are  capable  of  doing  well  in  more 
than  one  thing.  Be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  the  Honorable  Sec¬ 
retary  of  the  Interior,  that  when  the  situation  was  fully  made 
known  to  him,  hfe  at  once  recalled  his  instructions  to  remove  the 
clerk  and  farmer,  and  they  are  still  in  their  positions  and  render¬ 
ing  efficient  service.  The  new  farmer,  however,  did  appear; 
and  after  looking  the  ground  over,  he  said  that  the  present 
farmer  was  in  every  way  the  man  for  the  place,  and  that  he 
himself  would  not  accept  the  position.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  a  letter  written  by  him  to  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  and  will  show  the  grand  spirit  that  actuated  him. 

Seger  Colony  School,  Seger,  Oklahoma,  June  9,  1894. 

To  the  Honorable  Hoke  Smith,  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Sir : — In  response  to  a  notice  of  appointment  as  farmer  for  this 
school,  I  reported  here  under  date  of  the  7th  instant.  I  soon 
found  the  position  was  one  that  would  not  suit  me  at  all,  and 
further,  that  the  young  man  now  filling  the  place  is  in  my  mind 
the  proper  person  to  keep  there  for  the  benefit  of  the  service. 
I  find  that  the  school  employs  no  common  labor,  except  that 
done  by  the  regular  employees  and  the  superintendent,  and  that 
the  task  before  them  is  quite  irksome  and  combined  with  the 
climate  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  that  I  would  find  most  trying. 
I  desire  to  say,  too,  that  the  school  is  doing  most  excellent  work, 
that  the  plans  have  been  laid  for  other  extensive  work,  and  that 
myself,  or  any  other  man  unacquainted  with  the  duties  to  be  per¬ 
formed,  would  work  to  such  a  disadvantage  that  much  loss  would 
necessarily  follow  any  change.  I  do  not  see  how  any  man  can 
take  up  this  work  and  acquire  a  similar  degree  of  success  under 
months,  if  not  years,  of  experience  that  is  now  manifested.  I 
desire  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  favors  shown  me  by  the 
Department  in  this  appointment,  and  my  action  in  now  declin¬ 
ing  it  should  not  be  taken  as  want  of  appreciation  on  my  part, 
but  purely  from  the  belief  that  it  will  be  better  for  me,  and  will 
reflect  no  discredit  on  the  administration,  to  continue  the  work 
here  as  it  is,  by  reason  of  the  good  results  so  plainly  to  be  seen. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)  Jeremiah  B.  Hewell. 


35 


Among  the  faithful  employees  at  this  school  is  Mrs.  Enoch 
Hoag,  the  widow  of  that  well-known  preacher,  Rev.  Enoch  Hoag. 
She  has  been  for  many  years  in  the  Indian  service,  and  is  here 
at  this  school,  fifty-five  miles  from  civilization,  from  a  pure  mis¬ 
sionary  spirit,  for  the  good  that  she  can  do  the  children.  I  have 
seen  her  several  times  at  her  work  here  and  elsewhere,  and  it 
affords  me  great  pleasure  to  testify  to  her  faithful  service.  Her 
very  presence  is  a  benediction,  and  I  trust  she  may  be  spared  for 
many  more  years  of  usefulness. 

It  was  interesting  to  note  how  heartily  Superintendent  Seger  is 
sustained  by  the  best  people  in  Oklahoma.  When  it  was  known 
that  an  attempt  was  being  made  to  deprive  him  of  faithful  and  effi¬ 
cient  employees,  and,  if  this  was  done,  Superintendent  Seger  him¬ 
self  would  leave  the  service,  a  mass  meeting  of  citizens  was  held  at 
Minco,  to  protest.  It  was  called  by  Democrats,  and  Democrats 
were  the  leading  spirits  throughout.  I  speak  of  this  to  show  that 
Mr.  Seger  is  doing  a  non-partisan  work,  and  is  highly  respected 
and  commended  by  leading  citizens  of  Oklahoma,  regardless  of 
thffir  political  affiliations. 

I  proceeded  from  Seger  Colony  to  Haskell  Institute,  Lawrence, 
Kansas,  and  spent  four  days  there,  for  the  reason  that  I  believe 
there  is  no  institution  that  presents  such  a  grand  example  of  gen¬ 
uine  civil  service  reform.  It  is  a  most  successful  institution,  by  far 
the  largest  in  the  West,  and  under  the  management  of  Superinten¬ 
dent  J.  A.  Swett  is  doing  a  noble  work.  Superintendent  Swett 
was  for  several  years  the  successful  assistant  superintendent,  and  on 
this  account  was  promoted  to  the  superintendency.  The  attend¬ 
ance  is  about  500, — three  hundred  boys  and  two  hundred  girls. 
There  are  something  like  thirty  buildings  and  six  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  land.  The  crops,  orchards,  and  gardens  were  all 
looking  finely,  and  the  work  of  caring  for  them  is  done  entirely 
by  the  Indian  boys,  under  the  direction  of  competent  employees. 
There  were  at  the  time  of  my  visit  more  than  two  hundred  acres 
under  cultivation,  the  balance  being  used  as  a  campus,  for  pas¬ 
turage,  etc.  The  farm  carries  one  hundred  head  of  cattle,  one 
hundred  swine,  about  twenty  horses  and  mules.  There  were  one 
hundred  acres  of  corn,  twenty-eight  acres  of  oats,  and  eight 
acres  of  millet.  The  hay  crop  will  in  all  probability  be  at  least 
two  hundred  and  fifty  tons.  Last  year  2158  bushels  of  corn, 


36 


1060  bushels  of  oats,  and  several  hundred  bushels  of  wheat  were 
raised.  There  is  a  garden  of  fifteen  acres,  which  produces  from 
early  in  the  spring  until  the  frosts  of  autumn  a  great  variety  of 
vegetables  for  the  children’s  table.  The  institute  boasts  of 
several  barns,  one  of  which  is  two  hundred  feet  long  and  sixty- 
five  feet  wide,  in  which  there  can  be  tied  up  ninety-six  cows,  and 
two  hundred  tons  of  hay  stowed  away. 

Aside  from  farming,  gardening,  and  care  of  stock,  a  variety  of 
other  industries  are  carried  on.  For  the  present  fiscal  year  there 
have  been  made  eighty  wagons,  which  are  substantially  like 
the  standard  Studebaker  wagons.  There  is  also  a  tailor  shop,  in 
which  all  the  clothing  for  the  boys  is  made.  On  the  day  of  my 
visit  there  were  at  work  three  Indian  girls  and  fourteen  Indian 
boys,  all  under  the  supervision  of  Robert  D.  Agosa,  an  Indian 
from  Northport,  Mich.,  who  entered  the  school  as  a  pupil  Sep¬ 
tember  17,  1890,  and  who  for  nearly  two  years  has  had  charge  of 
the  shop.  He  knew  nothing  of  the  business  until  he  commenced 
to  learn  it  at  Haskell.  He  informed  me  with  considerable  pride 
that  last  year  the  shop  turned  out  about  twelve  hundred  pairs  of 
pants,  coats,  and  vests.  There  is  a  shoe  shop  in  which  last  year 
were  made  fifteen  hundred  pairs,  while  two  thousand  were  re¬ 
paired.  In  the  sewing  room  three  thousand  garments  of  various 
kinds  were  made.  There  were  ten  girls  at  work  by  hand  and  at 
the  sewing  machines  on  the  day  of  my  visit.  The  quality  of  the 
work  done  in  the  harness  shop  is  excellent.  It  is  all  done  by 
hand  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  surpass  it  in  a  city  shop.  They 
made  during  the  last  fiscal  year  about  two  hundred  sets  of  differ¬ 
ent  styles,  some  being,  fine  driving  harness,  while  others  were 
heavy  but  finely  finished  farm  harness.  All  of  the  repairing  of 
wood  work  about  the  institution  is  done  by  Indian  boys  under 
the  direction  of  the  carpenter.  During  the  last  year,  in  addition 
to  the  repairs,  which  in  such  a  large  institution  must  necessarily 
be  extensive,  there  has  been  built  a  band  stand,  a  wagon  house, 
and  two  barns,  besides  fitting  up  an  abandoned  ice  house  into  a 
two-tenement  house. 

Even  a  brief  visit  can  but  convince  an  unprejudiced  mind  that 
the  Indian  is  capable  of  learning  the  various  trades,  and  acquir¬ 
ing  a  good  common  school  education.  I  spent  some  time  in  all 
of  the  school  rooms,  and  found  that  excellent  work  was  being 


37 


done  by  the  teachers,  who  are  under  the  immediate  supervision 
of  Prof.  H.  B.  Peairs,  a  man  of  much  experience  in  the  Indian 
work,  and  to  whom  a  large  share  of  the  credit  was  due  for  the 
splendid  school  display  at  the  World’s  Fair  last  year. 

It  would  hardly  be  just  to  Supt.  Swett  and  his  intelligent  and 
faithful  employees  to  fail  to  call  attention  to  the  general  neatness 
about  the  hospital,  the  dormitories,  the  barns,  and  the  entire 
grounds,  and  the  air  of  thrift  and  systematic  business  that  per¬ 
vades  the  entire  institution.  More  than  a  passing  notice  should 
be  made  of  the  office.  The  office  work  at  this  large  institution 
is  very  important ;  and  while  the  superintendent  is  responsible 
for  everything,  the  work  is  directly  in  the  hands  of  the  Chief 
Clerk,  Mr.  J.  W.  Alder,  who  has  had  eleven  years’  experience 
in  the  Indian  service.  The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  re¬ 
cently  told  me  with  considerable  pride  that  when  new  clerks, 
inspectors,  special  agents,  and  supervisors  were  being  sent  out 
into  the  service,  he  had  them  come  to  Washington,  and  took  out 
the  accounts  of  Haskell  Institute  and  showed  them  as  models  to 


be  followed. 


The  following  is  a  list  of  the  corps  of  employees  and  the  length 
of  the  term  of  service  of  each. 

Years.  Months. 


Mr.  J.  A.  Swett,  Superintendent, . 

Prof.  H.  B.  Peairs,  Asst.  Supt.  and  Principal  Teacher,  .  .  .  . 

Mr.  J.  W.  Alder,  Chief  Clerk, . 

Dr.  C.  R.  Dixon, . 

Mr.  C.  W.  Jewett,  Assistant  Clerk,  ,  . . 

Mr.  Malcolm  Macbeth, . ’. . 

Mr.  S.  M.  Wilber,  Storekeeper, . . 

Mr.  W.  M.  Lindley,  Engineer, . 

Mr.  R.  O.  Ployt,  Farmer, . 

Mr.  E.  N.  Kelso,  Disciplinarian, . 

Mr.  A.  B.  Iliff,  Carpenter, . 

Mr.  J.  B.  Churchill,  Painter, . 

Mr.  W.  H.  Moffett . 

Mr.  Geo.  R.  Dove,  Harnessmaker, . 

Mr.  A.  S.  Hickey,  Blacksmith, . 

Mr.  J.  M.  Cannon,  Shoemaker, . 

Mr.  David  Bunker,  Wheelwright,  .  . . 

Mr.  R.  Z.  Donald, . 

Mr.  Anthony  Caldwell, . 

Mr.  John  Buch,  Bandmaster,  . 

Miss  Sarah  A.  Brown,  Principal’s  Assistant, . 

Mrs.  Laura  Lutkins,  Matron, . 

Miss  H.  W.  Ball,  Teacher, . 

Miss  D.  L.  Cones,  Teacher, . 

Miss  L.  P.  Jones,  Teacher, . 


4 

7 

1 1 

3 

.3 

O 

1 

4 
9 

5 

4 

6 

2 

5 
5 
7 

3 

i 

5 

5 

4 

5 

4 

4 

5 


9 

5 

o 


9 

9 

3 

o 

3 

10 

o 

O 

6 

9 

1 1 


1 1 

1 

2 


3 

I  I 

O 

o 

6 

3 

io 

7 

io 


38 


Years.  Months. 

Miss  Mariette  Wood,  Teacher, . 13  o 

Mrs.  M.  C.  Williams,  Teacher, . 2  10 

Mrs.  E.  L.  Johnson,  Assistant  Matron, . 3  10 

Miss  Lulu  Wallace,  Teacher, . 5  7 

Miss  E.  L.  Clark,  Dining  Room  Matron, . 7  3 

Miss  Ida  S.  Johnson,  Assistant  Matron, . o  3 

Miss  Anna  Fischer,  Seamstress, . 4  9 

Mrs.  Eva  Anderson,  Laundress, . 8  o 

making  an  average  of  five  years  and  three  months. 

I  .give  the  above  as  a  fair  illustration  of  the  cause  of  the 
present  degree  of  efficiency  and  high  standard  of  the  work  at 
Haskell  Institute.  This,  it  seems  to  me,  ought  to  be  a  sufficient 
answer  to  those  who  maintain  that  every  few  years  all  of  the 
employees  should  be  changed,  and  that  these-  positions  should 
be  looked  upon  as  rewards  of  political  work. 

There  has  also  been  a  large  reduction  in  the  annual  cost  of 
running  the  institution,  and  this  has  resulted  from  a  wise  econ¬ 
omy  that  could  be  practiced  only  by  employees  intelligent  and 
experienced  in  their  various  departments.  Four  years  ago  the 
per  capita  appropriation  was  $175  per  annum.  Last  year  it 
was  $167  per  annum,  and  the  actual  cost  per  capita  was  a  little 
less  than  $152  for  the  entire  year.  The  cost  for  one  quarter 
was  on  a  yearly  basis  of  $132.  Running  expenses  have  not  been 
reduced  by  neglecting  the  physical  condition  of  the  plant,  for 
buildings,  grounds,  etc.,  were  never  in  better  condition,  nor 
have  issues  of  food  or  clothing  been  reduced.  On  the  contrary, 
the  full  amount  of  each  allowed  by  the  regulations  has  been  reg¬ 
ularly  issued.  The  saving  has  been  made  through  a  wise  econ¬ 
omy,  made  possible  by  a  faithful  performance  of  daily  duties, 
with  which  the  various  employees  have  become  familiar  because 
of  experience.  Daring  the  last  few  years  Haskell  employees 
have  not,  as  was  sometimes  true  in  the  past,  left  their  daily 
duties  to  go  out  and  look  after  the  political  fences  of  some  U.  S. 
Representative  or  Senator,  nor  have  they,  as  a  proof  of  their 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  civilizing  and  educating  the  unfortunate 
red  man,  hied  themselves  away  to  district  school  houses  and  aired 
their  political  eloquence,  while  drawing  a  salary  for  duties  un¬ 
performed,  a  salary  paid  by  the  United  States  Government,  but 
really  in  part  contributed  by  admiring  auditors  from  the  proceeds 
of  forty-cent  wheat,  six-cent  cotton,  and  ten-cent  corn.  Strange 


39 


it  is  that  people  will  still  tolerate  the  spoilsman,  when  civil  ser¬ 
vice  reform  would  lessen  the  taxpayer’s  burden. 

A  prominent  official,  high  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  said 
to  me  not  long  since,  “  Our  people  are  complaining  and  we 
must  have  some  of  these  positions.  They  want  to  know,  if 
there  are  not  Democrats,  as  well  as  Republicans,  capable  of 
filling  these  places.”  This  complaint  need  not  be  labeled 
“  Democratic.”  It  might  with  equal  appropriateness  be  labeled 
“Republican,”  “Populistic,”  or  “  Demo-Pop,”  or  “Repub- 
Pop.”  The  breed  is  the  same,  and  has  all  the  undesirable  points 
that  have  resulted  from  the  many  crossings  and  inbreedings  since 
the  days  of  “  Old  Hickory.”  It  is  the  spoils  system  seeking  an 
opportunity  for  action.  The  official  who  repeated  the  above 
complaint,  is  educated,  cultured,  refined,  and  of  the  finest  in¬ 
stincts,  and  can  render  his  country  a  grand  service  by  setting  his 
face  like  a  flint  against  the  spoilsman.  His  pathway,  it  is  true, 
will  not  be  bordered  with  roses,  and  sleep,  sweet  and  refreshing, 
will  not  always  come  at  his  bidding,  but  he  will  be  rewarded  by 
the  approval  of  the  plain,  common  people  of  the  land,  who  are 
still  in  the  majority  everywhere  and  are  demanding  economy  and 
reform  in  the  administration  of  the  government. 

CHARLES  F.  MESERVE. 


Raleigh,  N.  C.,  July  i,  1894. 


APPENDIX. 


CONFERENCE  BETWEEN  STANDING  BUFFALO,  AN  INDIAN 
OF  PONCA  AGENCY,  AND  THE  ACTING  COMMISSIONER 
OF  INDIAN  AFFAIRS,  IN  THE  INDIAN  OFFICE, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  MAY  io,  1894. 

Standing  Buffalo  :  “  The  red  man  feels  that  he  has  no  protection  other 
than  the  government.  I  have  a  couple  of  questions  that  I  would  like  to 
submit  to  you  which  I  feel  as  though  it  was  actually  necessary  for  me  in  order 
to  satisfy  myself  and  my  people. 

“  The  first  matter  that  I  want  to  state  is  the  fact  that  I  was  actual  owner  of 
my  country  in  the  North,  but  I  have  been  removed  from  it,  and  here  I  am 
to-day,  an  Indian  in  a  destitute  condition.  While  I  was  North  I  still  held 
a  portion  of  my  reservation  there  and  had  a  home  of  my  own.  Then  I  and 
my  people  were  removed  without  cause  from  our  original  home  to  the  land 
we  at  present  occupy.” 

Acting  Commissioner :  “  There  is  no  use  going  back  and  talking  about 
what  happened  long  years  ago,  about  what  cannot  be  undone  or  remedied 
now.  Our  business  pertains  to  the  present  condition  of  affairs.” 

Standing  Buffalo  :  “  My  present  reservation  is  a  tract  of  land  that  I  purchased 
from  the  Cherokees.  Since  we  became  recognized  owners  of  our  new  home 
we  went  to  work  and  leased  a  part  of  our  country.  We  have  settled  upon 
our  homes  and  support  our  children  in  toiling  and  working  the  land.'  We  are 
bothered  and  unsettled  about  our  leases,  and  this  is  what  I  would  speak  to 
you  about. 

“  The  surplus  of  our  lands  has  been  leased,  but  I  have  not  known  anything 
about  on  what  conditions  the  leases  are  made,  or  the  payments,  and  I  under¬ 
stand  from  your  agent  that  it  was  by  the  instructions  of  your  office  here,  and 
if  so  I  want  to  know.  I  have  felt  that  the  Indian  Office  has  attended  to  the 
matter  very  carelessly,  as  I  have  not  been  able  to  understand  just  on  what 
principle  these  leases  have  been  made,  and  the  proceeds  from  them,  and  how 
the  proceeds  are  disbursed,  or  anything  about  it.  I  merely  want  to  understand 
the  action  of  the  authority  on  the  question  of  those  leases  generally.  Is  the 
land  leased  to  the  highest  bidder?” 

Acting  Commissioner :  “  Yes;  we  lease  it  to  the  men  who  bid  the  highest.” 

Standing  Buffalo  :  “There  is  something  else  in  regard  to  our  home  there 

40 


4i 


that  I  would  like  to  speak  about.  When  we  went  on  the  reservation  we 
understood  that  every  protection  that  could  be  given  us  by  the  government 
would  be  rendered  to  us  in  the  way  of  protecting  our  interests.  If  any  busi¬ 
ness  is  going  on  into  our  country — anything  coming  into  our  country — we  and 
our  interests  should  be  protected,  and  that  is  what  I  want  to  know. 

“  Now,  on  the  reservation  there  have  been  bridges  built  from  the  Ponca  side 
across  to  the  Osage  and  Oto  side,  and  there  has  been  no  understanding  with 
myself  and  my  people  about  in  what  way  there  is  any  revenue  coming  from 
those  sources.” 

Acting  Commissioner:  “The  bridges  are  free — free  as  the  streets  of  this 
city — and  there  is  no  revenue  from  them  for  anybody.” 

Acting  Commissioner  :  “  Is  that  all  you  have  to  say?” 

Standing  Buffalo  :  “  Yes,  for  the  present.” 

Acting  Commissioner :  “  If  that  is  all  you  have  to  say,  I  don’t  think  you 
were  justified  in  coming  all  this  long  way  to  say  it.  The  agent  is  there  to 
attend  to  this  kind  of  business.  If  there  is  anything  the  agent  cannot  attend 
to,  then  he  can  refer  it  here.  That  is  what  the  agent  is  there  for. 

“  You  have  not  said  anything  about  what  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about — 
about  taking  your  lands  in  severalty — your  allotments.  We  have  an  agent 
there — Miss  Clark — who  has  been  allotting  land  to  the  Indians,  and  I  think 
the  majority  of  the  Poncas  want  to  take  their  lands  in  severalty. 

“You  tell  me  that  you  come  here  and  that  all  the  time  you  are  trying  to 
work  for  the  good  of  your  people.  Now,  you  say  also  that  you  are  dependent 
entirely  upon  the  office  here  and  upon  your  white  friends,  and  the  government 
to  look  after  the  interests  of  your  people  and  help  them  take  care  of  them¬ 
selves.  Now,  we  think  here  in  this  office  that  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is 
to  take  those  lands  and  settle  down  there  and  live  upon  them,  and  each  man 
attend  to  his  own  business  and  we  will  attend  to  the  business  of  the  crowd. 
We  understand  all  about  their  affairs  down  there — we  look  after  and  attend  to 
them  here;  and  I  think  the  best  thing  that  you  can  do  is  to  go  home,  get  on 
your  allotment  of  land,  go  to  work  and  make  a  crop,  and  stay  there  and 
attend  to  your  own  business,  and  let  the  other  Poncas  do  the  same.  The 
Poncas  have  advanced  far  enough  for  each  one  to  attend  to  his  own  affairs, 
and  they  do  not  need  or  want  you  to  travel  about  the  country  to  attend  to  their 
business.  The  government  puts  an  agent  there  to  attend  to  the  business  of 
those  Indians. 

“  You  have  been  complaining  and  finding  fault  with  the  lease  business. 
You  now  see  that  this  business  is  all  right,  and  you  will  find  that  everything 
else  is  all  right.  The  bridge  business  is  all  right;  the  bridges  are  free;  they 
were  built  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ponca  Indians,  and  the  Ponca  Indians  derive 
as  much  benefit  from  them  as  anybody  else  without  it  costing  them  a  cent. 

“Now,  you  have  not  said  a  word  about  the  land  business.  The  best  thing 
you  can  do  is  to  talk  to  me  all  you  have  to  say,  and  I  want  to  give  you  some 
good,  friendly  advice  :  Go  home  and  settle  down  on  your  place,  stay  there  and 
attend  to  your  own  business,  make  a  crop,  and  try  to  make  money  and  be  com- 


/ 


42 

fortable,  and  you  will  be  much  happier  if  you  will  attend  to  your  own  affairs 
and  let  other  people’s  affairs  alone. 

“I  know  all  about  you  and  all  about  your  people  ;  you  are  not  talking  to  a 
stranger.  I  have  been  on  your  reservation  and  know  all  about  it — I  have  all 
the  papers  about  it,  all  the  books,  all  the  writing.  When  you  went  to  Ponca 
and  Indian  Territory  you  complained.  When  you  went  there  we  kept  land 
for  you  in  Dakota,  and  the  government  waited  for  you  and  gave  you  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  go  back  to  Dakota,  but  you  would  not  do  it — -did  not  want  to  do  any¬ 
thing  that  anybody  else  wanted  you  to  do — and  you  have  been  going  on  in  that 
way  until  I  will  not  have  it  any  more. 

“  Under  the  law  a  great  many  of  the  Indians  are  taking  their  allotted  lands, 
and  in  time  they  will  all  have  to  take  them,  because  that  is  the  law.  We  will 
give  you  a  limited  time,  and  if  you  do  not  select  your  lands  and  take  them 
from  the  allotment  agent,  then  after  a  while  we  will  allot  your  lands  to  you 
anyhow. 

“  I  am  not  going  to  let  the  civilization  and  the  advancement  of  the  Ponca 
Indians  be  stopped  by  such  Indians  as  you.  The  children  of  the  Ponca  Indians 
are  getting  along  well.  They  are  going  to  school,  becoming  civilized,  becom¬ 
ing  advanced,  self-supporting,  and  progressive,  and  are  trying  to  get  along  and 
do  well;  but  you,  and  a  few  followers  like  you,  who  do  not  represent  the  Ponca 
Indians,  are  trying  to  keep  them  back,  and  I  do  not  intend  to  let  you  do  it. 

“  What  I  say  and  what  you  say  I  am  taking  down,  and  I  am  going  to  send 
it  to  the  agent  and  to  Miss  Clark,  so  that  they  will  know,  and  the  Indians  will 
know,  what  this  talk  is  all  about,  and  the  Indians  will  know  just  what  we  have 
been  talking  about.  When  I  talk  I  don’t  talk  under  the  table — I  talk  plain.” 

(The  provision  of  the  General  Allotment  Act,  which  requires  Indians  to  take 
their  allotments  within  four  years,  was  read  and  explained  to  Standing  Buffalo. 
Section  2.) 

Acting  Commissioner  :  “  Have  these  other  two  Indians  anything  to  say,  or 
is  this  the  end  of  it?” 

Standing  Buffalo  :  “  I  would  like  to  have  a  little  talk  with  you,  and  I  want 
to  show  you  the  facts  of  my  position  with  my  followers,  and  I  would  like  to 
have  you  know  exactly  how  these  other  men  stand.” 

Acting  Commissioner :  “I  know.  I  have  been  there.  Ten  years  ago  I 
was  there.  I  have  talked  and  I  know  all  about  your  people  and  reservation, 
and  I  know  that  for  the  last  ten  years  you  and  a  handful  of  your  followers 
have  been  doing  all  you  could  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  Indians.  The 
Ponca  Indians  are  doing  first-rate,  but  you  want  to  rule  things  in  your  way, 
and  we  don’t  propose  to  allow  you  or  your  little  band  of  followers  to  run  that 
reservation.  The  progressive  Indians,  the  Indians  who  are  trying  to  get  away 
and  do  like  the  white  man — do  you  suppose  that  we  are  going  to  allow  them 
to  drift  back  to  wearing  blankets  ? 

“  I  know  how  you  have  been  doing  it  for  the  last  ten  years.  You  would  come 
here  and  go  back  and  tell  your  people  that  you  had  done  this  and  that  in 
Washington.  But  I  am  taking  down  everything  I  say  and  everything  you  say, 


43 

and  I  intend  to  send  it  to  the  agent,  and  the  agent  will  call  the  people  up  and 
read  it  to  them. 

“  The  majority  of  your  people  want  to  become  civilized,  and  the  government 
will  not  permit  you  and  a  handful  of  your  followers,  against  the  will  of  your 
own  people,  to  retard  their  progress.  If  you  don’t  choose  to  progress,  sit 
down  on  your  land  and  stay  there  and  drift  along  until  your  time  is  out,  but 
leave  the  other  people  alone. 

“  I  am  friendly  to  you  and  to  all  of  your  people,  and  tell  you  this  in  the  best 
and  kindest  feeling.  Settle  down  on  your  places  and  attend  to  your  own 
business.  You  have  been  traveling  about  the  other  reservations  too  much. 
You  are  not  agent  for  the  Poncas;  you  are  not  chief  of  the  Poncas;  there  is 
no  chief.  Every  man  that  settles  down,  and  every  Ponca  Indian  that  settles 
down  to  work  and  sends  his  children  to  school  is  his  own  chief,  and  you  are 
not  chief. 

“If  you  will  talk  to  our  agent  when  you  want  any  help  the  agent  will  give 
it  to  you.  The  Indians  who  have  taken  their  lands  have  by  so  doing  become 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  There  is  only  one  chief  among  us  and  that  is 
the  President.  * 

“  I  am  very  glad  you  came  here,  and  am  glad  to  have  seen  you  so  that 
we  can  understand  one  another.  You  say  you  want  to  work  for  the  good  of 
your  people.  If  you  will  do  what  I  tell  you  to  do  that  is  the  best  way  we  can 
help  your  people.  You  cannot  help  your  people  by  complaining  and  trying 
to  stop  them  from  advancement.  You  have  tried  to  stop  them  from  taking 
their  lands  in  severalty,  and  in  that  you  are  not  helping  your  people,  for  they 
are  going  to  take  their  lands  in  severalty  and  so  are  you;  and  if  you  don’t,  we 
are  going  to  give  it  to  you  anyhow.” 

Standing  Buffalo  :  “  We  came  here  to  visit  the  Great  Father.  We  are  poor 
people  and  very  destitute,  and  our  object  in  coming  here  was  to  gain  the 
sympathy  of  the  Indian  Office,  but  this  talk  pierces  me.” 

Acting  Cotnmissioner  :  “  We  have  the  greatest  sympathy,  but  if  you  want  to 
gain  the  sympathy  of  this  office  you  must  do  right.  When  we  send  an  agent 
down  there  to  do  certain  things  and  to  allot  lands  to  your  people,  and  you  go 
against  these  agents  and  go  among  your  people  and  try  to  prejudice  them 
against  the  Indian  Office,  and  then  come  here  begging,  you  cannot  expect 
any  sympathy.  I  want  you  to  do  what  is  right  and  what  is  according  to  the  law. 
I  know  what  is  best  for  you  to  do  and  will  do  everything  I  can  for  you,  but  at 
the  same  time  you  must  do  what  you  are  told  to  do. 

“  When  are  you  going  home — shortly?” 

Standing  Buffalo :  “Yes;  just  as  quick  as  the  Osages  go,  we  are  going 
with  them.” 

Acting  Commissioner  :  “  I  hope  when  you  go  you  will  take  my  advice  and 
stay  at  home  and  attend  to  your  own  business.  And  the  last  thing  I  want  to 
say  to  you  is  this :  You  are  not  doing  yourself  any  good  nor  your  people  any 
good  by  going  around  this  way.  You  are  just  losing  your  time  and  money  and 
influence,  and  doing  no  good  to  anybody.” 


- 


yv 


■ 


■-  . 

.  ■ :  /)  ,  •  •  '  ' 

' 


■ 


’  V 


..  I  -  \  . 


•  ,v’ '  .  •  .. 


) 


I,  J 


: 


.  ;>•.  .  - 


. 


t 


/ 


•j-  -  , « 

-  ■  I i  : ii  ; 


' 

'  ' 

•  '  . 


V  .  ' 

> 


'V"  ’ 

;  ; 
*■  ‘ ,  .1  • 


, 


.  •  :  .  '■ 

••  ,■ 

. 

■ 

' 


. 

*  . 


■  • 


'  " 

•  '  1  • 

.  * .  •  ■  ■  Hal 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS  FOR  THE  YEAR  1894. 


PRESIDENT,  f 

PHILIP  C.  GARRETT. 

VICE-PRESIDENT, 


DR.  JAMES  E.  RHOADS. 


TREASURER, 

E.  Y.  HARTSHORNE. 

CORRESPONDING  SECRETARY, 


HERBERT  WELSH. 


RECORDING  SECRETARY, 

ALBERT  B.  WEIMER. 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


F.  Hazen  Cope, 

W.  W.  Frazier, 

Charles  W.  Freedley, 
Philip  C.  Garrett, 

Rev.  J.  Andrews  Harris,  D.D 

D.  Henry  Hartshorne, 

E.  Y.  Hartshorne, 

Francis  Fisher  Kane, 
George  Gluys  Mercer, 

N.  Dubis  Miller, 


Charles  E.  Pancoast 
Henry  S.  Pancoast, 

J.  Rodman  Paul, 

Dr.  James  E.  Rhoads, 

.,  Rev.  H.  L.  Wayland,  D.D., 
Albert  B.  Weimer, 

Herbert  Welsh, 

Miss  S.  P.  Wharton, 

Rt.  Rev.  O.  W.  Whitaker,  D.D., 
E.  M.  Wistar. 


The  Indian  Rights  Association  is  a  non-partisan,  non¬ 
sectarian  organization  for  promoting  the  civilization  of  the 
Indian  and  for  securing  his  natural  and  political  rights. 
To  this  end  it  aims  to  collect  and  collate  facts,  principally 
through  the  personal  investigations  of  its  officers  and 
agents,  regarding  the  Indian’s  relations  with  the  Govern¬ 
ment  and  with  our  own  race,  concerning  his  progress  in 
industry  and  education,  his  present  and  future  needs. 
Upon  the  basis  of  facts,  and  of  legitimate  conclusions 
drawn  from  them,  the  Association  appeals  to  the  American 
people  for  the  maintenance  of  such  a  just  and  wise  policy 
upon  the  part  of  the  Executive  and  Congress  in  dealing 
with  these  helpless  wards  of  the  Nation  as  may  discourage 
fraud  and  violence,  promote  education,  obedience  to  law, 
and  honorable  labor,  and  finally  result  in  the  complete 
absorption  of  the  Indian  into  the  common  life  of  the 
Nation. 


c 


« 

s 


\ 


I 


< 


s 


